Congressman Barney Frank (D) called justice Frank Scalia homophobic today. Now if only more congresspeople would suddenly discover their own courage and finally just declare the ongoing debate against gay rights and marriage as a debate not based on preserving the sanctity of marriage or the morality of our country (People have an EXTREMELY narrow view of marriage in this country which perfectly highlights the idea that so many Ameircans can not manage to break outside their solely ethnocentric ideals on a variety of issues..Marriage is NOT a religious institution. If you disagree with this tell me why atheists are allowed to get married.) rather, the arguments against LGBT rights like marriage are solely based on homophobia and blind hate.
I feel like the arguments against gay rights are shallow and have absolutely no basis in reality. I am perfectly aware that the majority of people in this country are Christians. Some use their Christian believes as an excuse to hate (huh? what would Jesus have to say about that). What does the Bible REALLY say about homosexuality? Not much really. The issue of having sex individuals of one's own gender really is not a big issue in the Bible (the Bible focuses on men having sex with other men...I suppose the people who wrote the Bible felt that sex only occurs when penises are involved? ). It is absolutely mind boggling that people continue to focus so vehemently on denying an entire group of people their rights. I almost feel like perhaps people feel compelled to do this based on some sort of animalistic urge to thin the herd, so to speak, of undesirables who might put the health of the whole at risk because of the asinine belief that gays are unnatural simply because sex between two same-sex individuals doesn't produce children. Homosexual behaviour is seen in more than just humans. There is no reason to believe homosexuality is unnatural.
Anyway, let's look at the Bible, Leviticus mentions men lying with men twice. One section calls it an abomination and another declares that men who sleep with other men should be killed (along with men who sleep with their daughters-in-law and a variety of other people). What makes the idea that people use the Bible to justify their hatred and persecution of gays outlandish then? These statements decrying gay relationships are buried deep within a book of the Bible outlining the proper way to sacrifice animals and how to deal with various discharges. (Did you take a sacrifice to the alter after your last period? Leviticus says to). Obviously, the point is, Leviticus is out of touch. What worked over 2000 years ago for a group of people living in the middle east with an affinity for animal sacrifices without modern technology doesn't necessarily work for us.
All in all, people refuse to admit that their lack of acceptance of the LGBT community is based on blind hate and misconceptions. It's not a savory idea but I think people really NEED to realize this. I don't think they realize how hurtful these ideas can be because, perhaps, they have never met a gay person in their lives and the idea that they are actually living breathing people who should have rights has never entered their heads.
We need to stand up and be vocal of our support for the LGBT community instead of floundered around and saying things like "I have nothing against gays but I don't think they should marry). That's ludicrous! I think people, in their gut, realize that it is, yet even our president, the most powerful human being on the planet, can't just come out and declare his support for gay marriage. I suppose that would be political sucide... just like admitting to being an atheist or, to a lesser extent, having a vagina.
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