The Passing of Gay Marriage: A Watershed Moment in This History of Gay Rights Movement


 

 

            It was said that when God created Adam he created a helpmate, in which Adam named Eve. It was through this simple transaction that Adam made the statement: “For this reason alone man shall leave his mother and father and find a wife.” Thus, Adam created an institution that until recently was defined as a union between a man and a woman. 

            On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court made the decision that the institution of marriage should be extended to include same-sex couples.  To many Americans, especially evangelicals, the Supreme Court’s decision to pronounce gay marriage as legal was a slap in their face as well as God’s.  It is their belief that marriage is an institution clearly defined in the Bible as a union between a man and a woman.  Another union contrary to this definition, while viewed as being equal, is seen as immoral.  This is a theory of reasoning that I can relate to as well.

            As a young child, I was raised in a Black church where homosexuality was seen as a major taboo. For those that practiced such a great sin were viewed as people who had a rebellious nature against God’s essence.  It was clearly defined by the church that marriage was a union between a man and a woman and that the traditional family consists of a mother and father. Anything outside of that perimeter was operating outside of God’s will. This is something that has adhered to me since my childhood and into adulthood; that homosexuality is wrong and those who practice it are doomed to be cast into the lake of fire.   The church is not alone in their thinking, for there is an organization and a senator who agree with this mindset. The Family Foundation stated this after the Supreme Court decision was made public:          
       This is the Supreme Court gone rogue from the Constitution," said a spokesman for The Family Foundation. "Not only does the 14th amendment say nothing about same-sex marriage, but no one seriously believes the 14th Amendment prohibits states from defining marriage as between a man and a woman," said Martin Cothran, senior policy analyst for the group, "not the people who wrote it, nor the people who ratified it, nor the judges who today have rewritten it to make it mean what they want it to mean." This has nothing to do with interpreting the Constitution; this has everything to do with an elite caste of judges who think they have the power to rewrite it."

Following in their belief is Senator Whitney Wisterfield:

“I disagree with the ruling and am disappointed that the Supreme Court would create a new definition of family, rejecting what the citizens of this commonwealth wrote into our Constitution. I am glad that the opinion noted that this is a ‘changed’ understanding of marriage, that religious institutions have a right to advocate for the traditional definition of marriage, and I am glad that Kentucky's Religious Freedom Restoration Act protects the beliefs of Kentuckians who disagree with the Court…

            In the midst of this firestorm, I took it upon myself to be present for the Supreme Court’s ruling. If you were wondering if supporters of gay marriage were met with the same opposition that many of the Republican Party presidential candidates have expressed to the
media, the answer is yes. However, unlike the Republican Party presidential candidates who are in the majority of the media, the opposition was a lonely number one! He is a pastor, and he agrees with what has been stated by both The Family Foundation and Senator Whitney Wisterfield.  He feels that the homosexual lifestyle being both accepted and practiced is the reason why we have sexual transmitted diseases such as AIDS.  I found that to be disturbing for two reasons: 1) No one knows how AIDS was created, and 2) I don’t feel that AIDS or any sexual transmitted disease is God’s punishment for their lifestyle.             

After covering the opposition I decided to talk to the people that this decision will affect the most, gay couples.  I was able to interview three gay couples about the court’s decision to legalize gay marriage and the reason it is so important to them. Their general response to the decision was that this will allow people to see them as normal people rather than demons, sex-driven, or hell bound people, but decent human beings who desire the same rights as everyone else.   They further explained that this decision vocalizes that their relationships not only matter, but that they can live in their truth. It also opens up many doors that were closed to them before, such as the right for any gay spouse to visit their partner in the hospital, the ability to make medical decision for their spouse, receiving benefits from life insurance or wills, or to simply be included on their spouse’s death certificate.  
I then proceeded to ask these couples what they believe has transformed the church’s viewpoint on gays and gay marriage. One stated that when more and more people started to come out, it caused people to say, hey this is my son, my daughter, my cousin, my mother, my father, or a loved

 one that has been a vital part of my life. Am I going to cut them out of my life because they are gay? The answer to that question was a resounding no.  After hearing this explanation, I myself started to reevaluate my stance on the issue, from what I was taught as a child to what I believe in now as an adult.  Don’t get me wrong, I still believe that marriage is between a man and a woman, but I don’t believe that gay marriage is a form nor a tool of destruction on the institution of marriage.  Rather, I see it as the lawful expansion of marriage that includes all individuals and not a specific group of chosen people. This is what mimics our country’s founding principles: every man, woman, and child have the right to the pursuit of happiness, liberty, and religious freedom to believe what you want without the fear of being persecuted for your belief.

Reported by

Nadia Johnson

 
 

The Death of a Legacy by Sex Scandal: The Bill Cosby Sage


 

 

                        Since the story broke back in November of 2014, I have remained silent on this topic on my blog -- that ends today. As we are celebrating the birth of the new royal baby Princess Charlotte, the sex scandal that is currently surrounding Bill Cosby has steadily grown from just 10 women to almost 40 women, all claiming to have been drugged and either raped or molested by him. Now don’t get me wrong -- I think that rape is the most violent and evil crime that can ever be committed against a woman, and I in no way support a rapist walking free after he has destroyed the lives of his victim(s).

            However, when it comes to Bill Cosby’s case, the question that keeps coming to the forefront is “Why now?” Why did these women, after in some cases 20, 30 and even (in one case) 50 years, come forward with this shocking claim of being raped by him?  What kept them in the closet for so long, and why do they feel that now is the right time to go after a man they should have been after since the 1950s?  Since the original story broke, some of these women’s personal background stories have been dumped into the media, and frankly, from what I have read about some of them, their accusations make them seem like gold diggers. This would answer my initial question of “why now,” but as more women keep coming out of the woodwork, one has to wonder if there is some truth to what these women are saying. I would hate to think that there are people out there that are so sick that they would stoop so low to accuse an innocence man of a crime he didn’t commit just to get 15 minutes of fame. Remember, Bill Cosby is not a poor man, and he also has a rich legacy that is at stake here, which is the positive image of a black man and a black family in America.

            I hate to play the race card, but as a child I can remember watching first the Cosby Show and then Cosby and saying, “Wow, I want to be like them and grow up and have a family like that!” Keep in mind that back in the 80s and early 90s, there weren’t that many positive role models or positive images of either the black family, black men, or black women for that matter. That all changed with the debut of The Cosby Show. The Cosby Show was ground-breaking, for unlike shows such as Good Times or The Jeffersons, The Cosby Show showed that if a black man and black woman got a college education, they could not only have a successful career but also raise a respectful, educated, graceful, and career-driven family, just like any other person -- white or black. However, with this sex scandal now coming out, it makes us as a race wonder how many of our heroes have skeletons in their closets. Does this mean that there is a group of women who are waiting for the right time to accuse black heroes like Paul Robinson, Ben Carson, Sydnee Poitier, or even President Obama of the crime of rape some 50 years after the fact? Let’s be reasonable here -- even if Bill Cosby was not the man he is, the fact remains that there is no physical evidence, there are no witnesses, and there is nothing other than the words of these women that can corroborate their stories. Another problem with this is that the law has a statute of limitations, which currently prevents them from charging Bill Cosby with rape. This means that the only thing they can do to him legally is sue him for defamation of character, and some of them are taking that route.


            This leads me back to my original question -- why now? If the only thing you can do to this guy is sue him for defamation of character, and you can’t even put him behind bars for his crime, is it really worth it?  For what you will have lost is worth more than a defamation of character lawsuit. I
mean these women lost their lives, self–respect, sense of self-worth, and much more than I can list in this article. I admit, I find it hard to belief that a man idolized as a positive father figure for all young, black, fatherless girls could do this evil thing. However, that does not mean I am heartless. If he did do this, then nail that lying son of a gun to the wall and make an example out of him, which states that even if you are outside of the legal statute of limitations, you can’t get away with this -- not then, and definitely not now. But if he is innocent of this crime, then the only words I have to say to the accusers are karma is always a b…!     
 
By Nadia Johnson