Gay Marriage?
This
is a hard one for me. That's not because I care how other people choose
to live their lives or about their desires ambitions or inclinations.
It's just that I don't understand the gay attraction. I have never asked
why the male to male or female to female attraction is there. I guess
I just never cared enough to want to know. But, if I did care and if
it really bothered me and if I really didn't like the idea of someone being
gay, I believe I would have the good sense to not associate with gays.
Whatever else they do isn't, and shouldn't be, any of my business.
Republican congressman Ron Paul (now presidential candidate) firmly takes the position that, "The lives and actions of people are their own responsibility, not the government's." (from Ron Paul's website). Now, that's about as fundamentally conservative as you can get (notwithstanding the Libertarians who want to claim the higher ground on that point).
Good for Congressman Paul. But wait! Congressman Paul says he is opposed to gay marriage and he has stated his opposition to a Polk County Iowa judge's ruling that sets aside the state's ban on same-sex marriage.
What? Congressman Paul, how do you reconcile the two positions? One cannot reasonably say they believe in freedom from a restrictive intrusive government and say they oppose the rights of individuals to decide how they will live their lives. To Congressman Paul's credit, he believes (and votes) to leave the issue to the states. To his discredit, he ignores the fundamental conservative principles that look to a smaller and less controlling government and a nation of individuals with individual rights.
The Issue That Isn't The Issue
"We
want protect the American family and American family values." I've
heard this argument so many times that I almost believe it. Let's face
it, for most of the politicos it's a matter of marching to the popular tune.
No one know what they believe. For the rest, it is split between
being purely a religious issue and a hate issue. On religious grounds,
any position that attacks the rights of individuals to do with their lives
as they wish is contrary to both the word and the spirit of the Constitution.
It is anti-American to force religious beliefs into law. As for the
anti-gay hatred that does exist, acting on it is criminal. Living with
it is sad. We preach love and tolerance while we support a coalition
of anti-Constitutionalists (anti-american) and anti-gay zealots who find their
strength in the power of church that the Constitution is supposed to protect
us from.
If the family itself is so fragile that the marriage of a tiny number of gays will destroy its very fabric, then no amount of legislation will protect it.
The Right Conservative Position
Leave
them alone! Gays are easy targets for weak minded people who feel a
need to attack someone. Small in number and marginalized already, gays
poise no risk to anybody in any way. As individuals, they are and should
be protected by the Constitution for the very reason that they are exercising
individual preferences. Those preferences don't make sense to me and
they don't have to make sense to you or anyone else. It is the very
definition of a free society that it tolerates, in fact encourages, individual
choices. If we begin to legislate freedom based on what the majority
likes and dislikes, we abandon the very essence of democracy and we have no
right to call our selves free. If we want to call ourselves conservative
supporters of the Constitution of The United States of America, we have to
let gays live their lives as they choose including getting married.
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