Given war, hunger, and the world-wide economic meltdown,
it’s hard for me to have a lot of patience with the ideologues who, once again,
have dragged the issue of gay marriage onto my state’s ballot as if it were the
most burning issue facing this country. But
I think it’s critical, especially for people of faith, to oppose Proposition 8,
which would eliminate some citizens’ rights to marry.
As a Christian, I’m voting NO on Proposition 8 because I
believe in religious freedom, and the importance of keeping the state separate
from our churches.
Marriage is a civil contract: currently, in California all
citizens share equal rights to enter into this contract.
A civil marriage, of course, does not
require religious authorities to endorse it, perform it, or even like it.
You’re a Catholic priest, and you don’t want to let a divorced woman get
married in your church? Fine. You’re a rabbi and you don’t want to perform a
marriage between a Christian and a Jew? Fine. You’re a Presbyterian minister
and you don’t want to marry two men? Fine. But what’s not OK is for religious
authorities to decide what legal rights the state can give to divorced people,
or gay people, or people outside their faith traditions.
The sacraments or rituals of any faith do not belong to the state. And my civil rights should not depend on someone else’s religious beliefs.
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