In response to an interesting editorial on Feb 29, 2012, titled: “Everyone should be allowed happiness” by our local liberal commentator, Brian Beckley.
I do not share Brian’s enthusiasm for the recent decisions by the Washington state legislators and the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in legally recognizing marriage for homosexuals. Brian said, “I’ve heard all the arguments against gay marriage and I find them all to be bigoted piles of horse pucky.” So to not cast pearls before swine, I would like to address a few of Brian’s cow scat arguments.
I am a conservative, one who believes in a small, nonintrusive government that encourages and allows the people of this nation to better themselves. The beginning of the civil rights movement in 1948 was a proper step for our government to ensure an environment “where all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” (Declaration of Independence).
How can he possibly consider homosexual behavior a “civil rights issue”? If a Hispanic or Asian American walks down the street, I know this by the color of their skin. If a homosexual walks down the same street, I have no idea what their sexual preference is, nor do I care. The civil rights movement was about the equal treatment and opportunity for all persons without regard to race, color, religion, or national origin. It makes no reference to your sexual preference. The government should have no interest in what legal sexual behavior a person does in the privacy of their home or their sexual preference.
I am not ashamed to say that I attempt to live my life in a manner that is pleasing to my savior, Jesus Christ. Can I live by God’s law? No. Nor can Brian. I take offense to his claim that I “want to force someone else to live by your God’s (Brian’s God, too, as he’ll discover on Judgment Day) rules. That’s what is known in some parts of the world as “shariah law.” Is Brian suggesting that when a Christian stands on God’s principles, they’re attempting to instill Muslim sharia law? It’s crystal clear that he has no concept of Christian values or what Muslim sharia law is exactly. In my daily walk, I will treat a homosexual like everyone else: with gentleness, respect and dignity. Anything else would not be Biblical. If you’re a homosexual living in a country that is ruled by sharia law and your homosexuality is exposed, you will be executed. Do you honestly believe that a holy God approves of this judgment and condemnation under sharia law?
I close with this; the origin of marriage is from God’s word. Marriage is a commitment or a vow taken between you and your spouse before God, that you’ll love, honor and cherish. Marriage does not provide happiness, even if the government says it’s “OK.”
Scott D. Spanier
Bonney Lake
