Late last week New York lawmakers approved a bill legalizing same sex marriage in New York State. The measure has been debated and has been stalled for years. Since I no longer live in New York I’m unclear as to how the measure finally came up for a vote, but it did and of course there was strong reaction to the bill passing. Early this morning the New York Daily News posted an editorial piece by Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, the bishop of Queens and Brooklyn. The piece may be read here. The bottom line of the piece is that marriage is under attack and gay marriage is just another attack on marriage and by attacking marriage, family the basic unit of society is under attack as well.
Throughout the debate over gay marriage religious organizations have protested that a marriage is between a man and a woman, this is their opinion and I understand where it comes from but it is just that, their opinion. This is a governance issue, states issue marriage licenses and marriage is a legal binding of two parties, marriage facilitates inheritance and property rights, but to think that it is the sole purview of any religious organization is wrong. Marriage existed before Christianity and no religion has a monopoly on it.
What religious groups have failed to grasp is that this is not about them. The government has no right to tell a church or religious organization to acknowledge or perform gay marriage, that would be an infringement of its rights under the constitution, and it is in the church’s rights to deny the acknowledgement of any marriage. But the church has no right to dictate to government whose marriage it should or should not recognize; when asked about taxes due to the Roman government Jesus said, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s, and unto God the things that are God’s.” Marriage rights fall under the Caesar category. To deny a group rights is a policy of exclusion, which the founding fathers did their best to avoid, the Constitution is a document of inclusion, a list of what the government cannot do to you, rather than a list of rights it gives you.
The Most Reverend Nicholas Dimarzio has stated that the family is under attack in today’s society and lists many ills that are plaguing us today. He is correct there are more strains on the family than ever before, households where both parents work, a family that spends less time together etc… but to lump same sex marriage as a contributing factor of this epidemic is wrong minded and hurtful to the gay community. Two people who are committed to one another and want to share a life together should not be kept from doing so simply because religious groups are uncomfortable with it. I understand that these groups think they speak for God, but what if I don’t worship your God? What if I don’t believe in God? Should I have my rights denied because you think that my legal, non-harmful activity upsets him, or worse yet, upsets your sensibilities?
Bottom line; there is more at stake here than your religious beliefs. There are the freedoms and civil liberties of the citizens of the United States, no matter their sexual orientation or religious beliefs.
Have a good week folks.
