Tuesday, November 08, 2005

Please Vote

While I try to keep political discussions out of my blog, today is very different.

Today is Election day. Today in Williamson County, we have a ballot without people. This election is supposed to have the highest turnout for a ballot with only amendments. There is good reason. Texas has a very important issue at hand.

Proposition Two: Amendment 2
Brief Explanation as on KXAN's website:
HJR 6 would provide that marriage in Texas is solely the union of a man and woman, and that the state and its political subdivisions could not create or recognize any legal status identical to or similar to marriage, including such legal status relationships created outside of Texas.

I am voting against this absurd amendment. My Sweetie and I believe, no backlash please as this is our opinion, that gay marriage should be allowed. If you do not know, we go to an Episcopal church - women as priests and an openly gay man as a Bishop. One of my greatest friends is a gay man. I believe God made us to be happy and Christian-like (we do not believe that everyone has to worship the way we do - but that is a different blog altogether). Why should this not include those who love the same sex?

I believe everyone should vote No today, regardless of what you believe. Imagine, if you will, that you are gay, have a committed relationship for longer than most straight couples you know, and you are madly in love with your partner. How would it make you feel if you were told your relationship wasn't real, that your commitment didn't matter, that the feelings in your heart were wrong? How would you feel if you were told you were sinning by simply fulfilling your heart, the way God made you?

One of the things I love about my company is that we offer "same-sex" benefits. This is awesome. Times are changing. Look around, everything is changing. In the state of the world right now shouldn't we encourage more love. How can loving someone be wrong?

You want to know the funny thing? For all those reading this who think I am crazy, regardless of how this law passes, there will still be individuals who are gay and in your community. They will still have relationships. They will still feel love in their heart for the same sex. This election will not change this. What does voting No do? It shows that we have respect for these people. It shows that we believe that all individuals should have the same rights. This is America. Voting Yes is discrimination, the same as that based on sex or race.

Be a real Christian and do not judge that you do not understand.

Vote No and show that Texans are not closed minded hillbilies.

I will step down from my soap box now.

2 comments:

terry said...

Well said.

Though marriage licenses are issued by the county you reside/are married in, I still don't quite get why this particular religious event is so intertwined with the state. Are not these two entities supposed to be separate?

Many throw up their arms in protest when the Ten Commandments are on display at a courthouse, yet no one thinks the state having such control over an entire religious ceremony is wrong?

And to claim that a wedding is not a religious ceremony would be ludicrous, in my opinion. If it wasn't, then the church would have no involvement whatsoever. Yes, you can be married by those who are not of the cloth, but that is no excuse for the fact that it is, at its core, a church-related event.

This amendment is blatant sexual discrimination.

Hildie said...

Terry and Missy,

I share in your sadness that we live in a state where the majority of people cannot be open minded enough to see that everybody should be treated equally. However, I am curious about what Terry said - in particular the last paragraph. I don't subscribe to any particular religion and I would disagree with you that my wedding is a religious ceremony. And I would also challenge your assertion that my thinking that way is ludicrous. I know we have differences in our political beliefs and I would also disagree with Missy that this is the first time I feel the state has let me down; but my lack of understanding needs to be enlightened.


budi