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