This past week has been an interesting week in Iowa. The Iowa House debated and passed a bill requiring a vote by the Citizens of Iowa regarding the issue of same-sex marriage. Former Senator Jeff Angelo spoke to the members of the House and told them of his change of view regarding that very issue. I’d like to share my story.
The first homosexual man I met was my neighbor. I had no idea. I found out about his sexual preference during a walk at night on a snow covered street in Jackson, MS. He began telling me he had something horrible to tell me and was afraid I would not want anything else to do with him. I began thinking of his being an axe murderer. I was relieved when he told me only of his relationship with another man.
I had an aunt by marriage that left my Uncle to live as a lesbian. We laughed and joked about how she only married my uncle for his name, Gay. She has passed on, I wish I could sit and talk with her. I am sure she knew we judged her. After all, we were Spirit-filled Christians, what else were we supposed to do?
I followed the information about how those with different sexual preferences were going to take over our country and destroy it. First, they were going to take over our schools, then our boy scouts and finally destroy our homes. These were powerful people.
All of my feelings on this issue changed three years ago when my son fell in love with a wonderful young lady. I was horrified her mom was a lesbian. I tried my best to talk my son out of marrying her. How stupid I was. One day it dawned on me, I could either accept my daughter in law’s family or I could lose my son. There was no problem at all in my deciding that I would learn to love her family. I would not lose my son.
I began visiting their homes. I saw they lived just as I did. They were just people. I found I liked them. We haven’t become close friends but it is not because of their sexual preferences. I have since become friends with others who have partners that are of the same sex. I’ve got a couple of friends that are transgender that I would not trade for a million dollars. I’ve learned to see people and not labels.
As an American, I am very concerned if we keep trying to mold people into what we want with laws, we are going to regret it. What will we do if one day there are more anti-Christian zealots in America than there are Christians? What if they decide what our rights are? Some of my Christian friends will be offended by my stance. Religion has no place in deciding what my rights are or are not. I don’t want or need any politician in any position to come into my bedroom or my church. Our Founding Fathers knew this all too well from experience.
God bless America. All of us. Not just those of my belief.
Great post, Kathy! I believe that it is the government’s role to insure its citizens’ rights,but it should not be concerned with what goes on in citizens’ bedrooms.
Kathy, thanks for having the courage to write this. My ex-husband is gay and he is the father of my children. We were married for eight years and divorced when his true sexuality came to light. As you may have noticed through observation, some people are not born with certainty about their sexuality and it can change over time when social forces allow them to show their true selves. Even though this was personally painful for me, I have never waivered in my belief that all people should be treated equally under the law. I can think of dozens of heterosexual couple who’ve made an abomination out of marriage. I hope you bring this issue up among your Christian friends and ask them why they fear gay people. As you said, they are just people, trying to live authentic lives. It’s not even about sex at all. It’s truly a human rights issue. And as odd as it sounds, the majority should not be deciding the fate of any minority. That is the role of the courts, and they rule based on the constitution. Thanks, Claire