Prop 8 Opposition Still Baffles Me

OK, don't flame me, but I'm going to take a break from the fluffy and smarmy to actually talk about something that's been on my mind for some time now... Prop 8.

I preface my thoughts with an appropriate disclaimer... I'm not a gay-basher, nor am I in any way homophobic. I simply do not accept the homosexual lifestyle as being morally or socially "equal to" heterosexual marriage. And I never will. I do not believe in denying individuals the ability to live a homosexual lifestyle if they so choose. That would meddle unacceptably with their free agency. But their insistance that gay and lesbian lifestyles are morally equivalent to heterosexual marriage, and that it should be taught to school children as such, meddles unacceptably with MY free agency.

And my resistance to that notion is simply unacceptable to them for some reason. Their worldview is somewhat skewed... they are somehow free to feel they way they do, but anyone who feels differently should be silenced.

The crux of the argument against Prop 8, as I understand it from some of my gay friends and others, is that Prop 8 seeks to "take away the right of gay couples to marry like anyone else, and to be accepted on equal footing with heterosexual couples."

And therein lies the problem.

The argument is a screaming logical fallacy. It assumes the gays have, at one point or another, "had the inherent right to marry like hetersexual couples," and that that right has somehow been "taken away." Nothing could be farther from the truth. Neither can the most rabid of gay activists point to a time when this was the case. It is simply a fraudulent argument meant to intentionally deceive by suggesting that they have been deprived of something to which they are legally entitled. This is a clear case of an "entitlement mentality" run amuck.

In our society, "legal entitlements" are determined by... wait for it... the voice of the people, and those who they elect to represent them. In California, the voice of the people DENIED the attempts by gays to force their agenda on the citizenry... twice. And decisively, at that. As it turns out, the voice of the people has turned out to be heinously annoying to the gay and lesbian community. So, as any consciencious, civic-minded adult would do, the gay and lesbian community responded to this decisive mandate by figuratively (and sometimes literally) hurling themselves to the ground and throwing a screaming, kicking, and crying tantrum... and one which has already turned destructive, and which is poised to become blatantly violent at any moment.

I recognize that tactic. I've raise over a dozen small children. And it smacks of the same maturity level.

Of course, as is the tactic with all bigots... and yes, the gay and lesbian community are among the MOST bigotted and hateful of them all... they attempt to discourage opposition by attaching a stigma to anyone who disagrees... so they paint anyone who disagrees with them with the brush of "hatemonger." Being "hateful" is politically incorrect, doncha see?

It is simply not possible to disagree with gays, in their eyes, without being "homophobic" or a "hater." The goal is to make disagreeing with them so socially repugnant that those who are mildly against them or 'on the fence' will quickly withdraw from their opposition to the gay agenda. They may be childish, but they're not stupid. The tactic works more often than we'd like to admit.

So, after the weak have retreated to the safety of apathetic silence, the only ones left standing on the rainbow battlefield are... gays and those who staunchly, bravely, oppose their agenda and refuse to cower in the face of withering name-calling.

Isaiah saw our day and gave a dire warning to those who had "ears to hear";

"Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!" (Isa 5:20)

I remember reading that scripture numerous times... but never have I seen it so literally fulfilled as when carefully examining the actions of those opposing Prop 8. And I certainly don't see anything unclear or confusing about why the gay/lesbian community has zero'd in on the LDS Church to focus their rage... Satan knows precisely where the seat of righteousness is. And he knows where his main opposition will come from.

The Evangelical camp is already divided. Sporadic barking from "Focus on the Family" aside, they can't even agree among themselves as to whether gays should be accepted as the "moral equivalent" of heterosexual unions. Many Protestant/Evangelical congregations and churches already not only embrace them and their lifestyle, but ordain them to their clergy. Since the Roman Catholic Church started vetting their potential priests more carefully to weed out homosexuals, their recruiting numbers have dropped through the basement. It is clear who the unapologetic holdouts are. It be us.

The good news is that we stand firmly on hallowed ground. The bad news is, the other side knows it. In my humble opinion, it's gonna get a whole heckuvalot worse, and ain't gettin' no better anytime soon. Which makes it even more important to have our own houses in order. To be doing what we should be... and keeping an eagle-eye on what's going on around us, particularly as it pertains to what our leaders are telling us. That's my opinion. Of course, your mileage may vary. :)