Advocates of same-sex “marriage” present the idea as a step forward for tolerance and respect. But recent developments place that interpretation very much in doubt.
Legalizing same-sex “marriage” is not a stand-alone policy, independent of all the other activities of the state. Once governments assert that same-sex unions are the equivalent of marriage, those governments must defend and enforce a whole host of other social changes.
Unfortunately, these government-enforced changes conflict with a wide array of ordinary liberties, including religious freedom and ordinary private property rights.
It began with the persecution of Catholic Charities in Boston. The archdiocese eventually closed down its adoption program, because the state of Massachusetts insisted that every adoption agency in the state must allow same-sex couples to adopt.
Recently, a Methodist organization in New Jersey lost part of its tax-exempt status because it refused to allow two lesbian couples to use their facility for a civil union ceremony. In Quebec, a Mennonite school was informed that it must conform to the official provincial curriculum, which includes teaching homosexuality as an acceptable alternative lifestyle.
At last report, the Mennonites were considering leaving the province rather than permit the imposition of the state-sponsored curriculum on their children.
And recently, a wedding photographer in New Mexico faces a hearing with the state’s Human Rights Commission because she declined the business of a lesbian couple. She didn’t want to take photos of their commitment ceremony.
The underlying pattern is unmistakable. Legalizing same-sex “marriage” has brought in its wake state regulation of other parts of society. The problem is sometimes presented as an issue of religious freedom, and so, in part, it is. But the issue runs deeper than religious freedom.
McGill University professor Douglas Farrow argues in his book A Nation of !@#$% that redefining marriage allows the government to colonize all of civil society.
If same-sex couples can marry each other, they should be allowed to adopt. Anyone who says otherwise is acting against the policy of the state. If same-sex couples can have civil unions, then denying them the use of any facility they want for their ceremony amounts to unlawful discrimination. When the state says that same sex couples are equivalent to opposite-sex couples, school curriculum will inevitably have to support this claim.
Marriage between men and women is a pre-political, naturally emerging social institution. Men and women come together to create children, independently of any government. The duty of caring for those children exists even without a government or any political order.
Marriage protects children as well as the interests of each parent in their common project of raising those children.
Because marriage is an organic part of civil society, it is robust enough to sustain itself, with minimal assistance from the state.
By contrast, same-sex “marriage” is completely a creation of the state.
Same-sex couples cannot have children. Someone must give them a child or at least half the genetic material to create a child. The state must detach the parental rights of the opposite-sex parent and then attach those rights to the second parent of the same-sex couple.
The state must create parentage for the same-sex couple. For the opposite-sex couple, the state merely recognizes parentage.
In her essay in The Meaning of Marriage, Seana Sugrue argues that the state must coddle and protect same-sex “marriage” in ways that opposite-sex marriage does not require.
Precisely because same-sex unions are not the same as opposite-sex marriage, the state must intervene to make people believe (or at least make them act as if they believe) that the two types of unions are equivalent.
Public schools in California are soon going to be required to be “gay friendly.” A doctor has been sued because she didn’t want to perform an artificial insemination on a lesbian couple. A private school is in trouble for disciplining two female students for kissing. All in the name of supporting the rights of same-sex couples to “equality” with straight couples.
The fact that opposite- and same-sex couples are different in significant ways means that there will always be scope for the state to expand its reach into more and more private areas of more and more people’s lives.
Perhaps some people think it is okay to shut down Catholic adoption agencies, because the Catholics have it coming to them: The Church’s enemies are many. Perhaps some people don’t care for Methodists, and don’t care whether they lose their tax-exempt status.
But the Mennonites? These are the most inoffensive people on the planet. They have been pacifists for centuries. Their continued existence here in North America is a testimony to the strength of our ideals of religious tolerance and pluralism, in all the best senses of those terms. But now, in the name of equality of same-sex couples, the Mennonites are being driven out of Quebec.
Perhaps you think people have a natural civil right to marry the person of their choosing. But can you really force yourself to believe that wedding photography is a civil right?
Maybe you believe that same-sex couples are entitled to have children, somehow. But is any doctor they might encounter required to inseminate them?
Advocates of same-sex “marriage” insist that theirs is a modest reform: a mere expansion of marriage to include people currently excluded. But the price of same-sex “marriage” is a reduction in tolerance for everyone else, and an expansion of the power of the state.
Jennifer Roback Morse is the senior fellow in economics at the Acton Institute and the author of Love and Economics: It Takes a Family to Raise a Village, newly reissued in paperback.
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Slowly people became civilized from their tribal life style. Marriage between a man and a woman has become the accepted pinnacle of civilization. Family , society and nation have become accepted units. So if anyone wants to turn back to the tribal days and lifestyle, we civilized generation hold them “Mad”. No amount of argument, discussion, science or religion will satisfy them because they have already taken a decision to oppose the present civilization. The affluent society in Europe and america started it and evangelizing the world.
The same arguments about destroying society were made when it came to women voting, blacks marrying, and overturning laws against inter-racial marriage. And letting women and men out of relationships that were bad at best, and brutal at worst.
And yes, also by christians who gave us slavery, the KKK and segregation to keep alive their civilization of economic privilege at the expense of another group of victims.
This woman is catholic. She should really think about the history of her church.
The church for a thousand years propagated hatred against the Jews, because they did not knuckle under to the absolutism of the church. The culmination of that hatred was WWII and the HOlocaust, and 55 million deaths.
How many people realize that hitler was born and baptized catholic in very catholic Austria. Where he documented his hatred of the Jews which he learned in his youth, in Mein Kampf.
And the church has yet to EXcommunicate him. But in 2009 Unexcommunicated a Bishop williamson who is a holocaust denier/minimizer.
Almost all of western Europe is now supporting gay peoples legal rights to marriage or an equivalent, while Latin America is doing the same, witness Argentina with gay marriage, and Equador, Uruguay, Columbia, and parts of Mexico and Brazil similar.
This is all about “faith”. The church sees how these once heavily catholic areas have progressed, while it becomes increasingly irrelevant.
Money and power rule in the upper levels of the heirarchy, and the gays are just the next victims of this absolutist left over from the dark ages. Which needs a new reformation to remain relevant in the modern world.
Rather then trying to keep the LGBT community pariahs in our society, why isn’t the church rooting out the members of the hierarchy who for decades let abuse of children rule the roost, and hid these crimes. Tell me one place where the church took the guilty priests in chains to the police, along with the victims to tell what happened
Sex starved priests, in a virtual prison re natural desire for sex, claimed as victims the very children - the handiest opportunity - that they were sworn to protect. And its no more about being gay, then prison rape is about being gay.
The Archbishop of Vienna - Schonborn (?sp) said it all when he said its all about celibacy. It appears that the church ended marriage for priests about 1200 AD. So that it would inherit the priests assets instead of the priests family.
The similarities of the church, re women, re gays etc are striking to the Islamic societies of the mideast. The only difference is the Islamics live in a 7th century world, while the catholic church is still fighing the reformation with its equivalent of a new Inquisition.
The catholic church from early on gained total control of its people with the promise that death isn’t death, and that if you don’t do it the way they tell you to, death will be for you the eternal and worst fear of anyone - death by being burned alive, and it never ends.
Reminds me of my army days in the early 60s. When veterans of the war in the pacific told us that there was only one thing that the fanatical Japanese feared, and that was a flamethrower.
And the church gets all the dirt on its members through confession. And leverages that ‘dirt’ to further gain control of peoples minds via terrorization of thier concept of hell.
No wonder 90% of our once CAtholic family have left the church. Most joined the Episcopal church, some who are in mixed marriages with Jewish people joined the UU church, whose symbol is a cross and a Jewish star one on top of the other.
And we’ve met a number of gay people at these churches. They are the greatest of people, hard working, in committed relationships for decades.
And in no way a threat to civilization but instead they all practice Jesus both of only two commandments - Love God, and love thy neighbor as thyself.
And were proud of our 8 year old granddaughter, who understands to some extent why one of her friends has 2 mommies.
And the other grandchild will be introduced to the same concept as soon as she is a couple years older. To insure that prejudice is prevented before it gets a foothold.
Christians think God gave us reason AND revelation AND a family to arm us for the battle for the kingdom of heaven and eternal happiness. The world rejects family, revelation, most of reason, and all of eternity . The world offers satisfaction here and now. The world offers sex, drugs, rock ‘n roll, abortion, homosexuality, divorce, bestiality, pornography, all with no judgement or consequences. The bumper sticker version is “He who dies with the most toys wins.” We all get to make this bet before we die. Paschal described this wager so well that we now study it in mathematics as “Paschal’s Wager”. It is one of the great mind experiments of all time. Take a look.
And as St. Paul says, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. . . .We are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead.” In that same chapter he says “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen sleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” But then Paul triumphantly declares, “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep” (1 Cor. 15:14-20).
Les jeux sont fait.
Catholics, other Christians, Jews, Muslims, should not be FORCED to give their child to someone outside their Faith, if adoption should be necessary.
They should not be FORCED to perform medical procedures that are against their Faith.
Their private hospitals, adoption agencies, and schools should not be FORCED to accept those who purposely violate their Faith.
Gay Marriage is an all out assault on Religous Freedom.
There is no scientific proof that homosexuality is anything more than a desire. The CDC and organizations around the world can not find any gene or medical reason.
Pornography, Beastiality, Poligamy are all desires as well. The rest of Society should not change for the perverted desires of some.
Stephen, What are you teaching your Grandchildren?
You and your children will be held responsible !
You seem to believe in the New Testament.
Read: Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:10; 1 Tim 1:10; all regarding homosexuality.
It’s the same in the PROTESTANT - King James and Tyndale editions as well as Catholic editions.
As I said before, science can not find any biological reasons for homosexuality even though they have searched. It is merely a perverted desire.
Tolerance and encouragement of Sin is an abomination.
The comments herein reveal a shocking lack of understanding of sexual orientation & a deep seated disdain & hatred for what is a state of being & NOT a “perverted desire”. This is exactly the kind of erroneous rhetoric that leads to deaths & the destruction of psyches & suicides. Following the torture/murder of Matthew Shepard, in Laramie, Wyoming some years ago, his mother said she didn’t blame the young thugs who killed her son so much as society for giving them permission to do so. Entire segments of the population continue to dispense said permission, with all the expected & tragic results. To those who are not aware; the permission spoken of is hereby & forever, rescinded. People who refer to a lack of scientific evidence cannot have an backing in even the most elementary of biology courses, but speak as if having the knowledge of the ages. Homosexuality is innate. It is a state of being that defines who one has the propensity to fall in love with.The next time you hear of some gay person being beaten beyond recognition, & in a coma or on a slab in a morgue, at the hands of others, take a bow. You’ve earned it.
Additionally, Doug Farrow is one of the most hate driven & virulent anti-gay academics ( I use the term loosely), on this continent.In response to the government of Quebec wanting to eliminate homophobia (i.e. violence, bloodshed, & murder), he wrote a paper that essentially called for a war against people of conscience, using some of the most inflammatory language I’ve seen thus far from anyone so vastly uninformed.
I really liked this article. I love Jesus and I love His Church and look forward to more articles which cling to TRUTH.
We just lost a major battle. Don’t Ask Don’t Tell. Not even a whimper has come from our Church. Wat up wid dat?
Tattoos are forbidden too, by a line in the bible directly preceding the one used to prove homosexuality is a sin. Do you check every person you marry in your church to see if they have a tattoo? Do you strip down every potential adoptee to make sure they haven’t tainted their skin with ink? I didn’t think so. Are Christian or Catholic churches allowed to deny Jewish couples a place for a wedding? Are Methodist Churches allowed to close their doors to a Unitarian? No, I don’t think that would go over particularly well. People with different religious beliefs should be allowed to exercise those beliefs. It’s amazingly ironic that a Catholic would think it’s okay to ban a different religion from getting married, but I guess no one remembers when Catholics weren’t allowed to get married in Maryland.
Well written article and glad that someone has the guts to speak the Truth even when it is very counter-cultural. I hope there will at least be some religious liberty for my children to enjoy in their lifetime.
God bless.
You people are promoting the hate and discrimination of the lgbt community! Shame on you! Legalizing gay marriage will not hurt you in ANY way, you can still go on being heterosexual, I’m heterosexual and of the faith, but I am also an avid believer in human rights, it is not your place nor anyone’s place to play God and decide who deserves the right to marry the one they love, now is it? In the Bible it also says it is an abomination for men to shave anything (Lev.19:27),to touch women when their menstruating (Lev.15:19-24),it is an abomination to eat shellfish (Lev.11:10), as it is stated clearly in the Bible to love thy neighbor, and Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed not because of homosexuality, but because they wanted to RAPE the angels. Now the arguments a bit more fair, isn’t it? LOVE and PEACE for EVERYONE!
?
1. Marriage is instituted by God as a faithful, exclusive, lifelong union of a man and a woman
2. Marriage comes from the loving hand of God, who fashioned both male and female in the divine image
3. The natural structure of human sexuality makes man and woman complementary partners for the transmission of human life.
4. When marriage is redefined so as to make other relationships equivalent to it, the institution of marriage is devalued and further weakened.
5. It is not unjust to deny legal status to same-sex unions because marriage and same-sex unions are essentially different realities.
6. The state has an obligation to promote the family, which is rooted in marriage.
So let me get this straight, a hetero couple who cant have kids and adopts has"state created parentage” which is less organic and thus less desirable? Huh? Maybe you should writhe about how awesome the sacrament of marriage is rather than going to McGill University to find a guy willing to argue that the expansion of civil liberties actually makes the united states an oppressive govt similar to Communist Russia. How is this a reduction of tolerance for everyone else? The Govt isn’t coming to your house to make you watch Modern Family; its just saying you cant refuse to recognize the consequences of another person’s exercise of free will. As Catholics, we need not worry about them getting their gay hands on our sacraments; we can bash the lifestyle in our churches all we want. Worst that will happen is that our kids will come to us with questions about the lifestyle, in that case we just tell them about how awesome being catholic and straight is, it shouldn’t be anything a parent can’t handle.
My brother referred me to this article because he thought it was well done. He has also decided he will not attend his own son’s commitment ceremony to another man. I find it terribly sad that religious views can end up dividing families.
Stephen:
At the core of gay marriage and the gay lifestyle is the sexual act of sodomy. Ask any Christian: Catholic, Episcopalean, Baptist, etc. if 2000 years of Christian tradition or scripture has ever justifed sodomy as moral and the answer is “no.” Agreed, gay people are hard working, nice, good people in the communty. But they are commiting the grave sin of sodomy. A man living a lfestyle commiting adultery by cheating on his wife can also be a hard working, nice, good person in the community but no Christian would ever say that his adulterous actions are moral and without sin.
Hector:
Your interpretations of scripture are, at best, incorrect. Your misinterpretations are against the authoritative teaching of the Catholic Church which alone has the authority, given to it by Christ Himself, to “bind and loose” and therefore properly interpret scripture. Where do you get your authority to interpret scripture? Have you made yourself your own “pope?” Gay marriage can never be jstified because at its core it is based on the grave sin of sodomy.
No matter what you say or do, if a man loves a man, or a women loves a woman, they will pursue a relationship whether you or the Church accepts or recognizes it or not. Plain and simple. It has been my experience that two people of the same gender can and do fall in love. And they do form relationships. So how do we deal with this? Telling them that it is ‘wrong’ seems to fall on deaf ears. I knw what the Church teaches/believes, but in these cases it fals on deaf ears. They practice the faith. come to Mass, receive the sacraments. So whre do we go from here? Can we question their sincerity? Or their faith? While we may condemn their physical relationships, the reality is they are going to do
what they see fit.
I know you will not publish this. That is your choice. But at the same time you cut-off millions of sincere, devout Catholics. So where do we go from here??
“There is no scientific proof that homosexuality is anything more than a desire. The CDC and organizations around the world can not find any gene or medical reason.”
## People *choose* to be Catholic - by contrast, realising one is gay can be an indescribable shock, which the anti-gay rhetoric does nothing to lessen and a good deal to increase. Why would anyone choose to be a member of a hated and despised minority ?
Are the common cold, or cancer, myths, because no one has discovered “any gene or medical reason” for them ?
“Posted by Happy Face on Wednesday, Jun 22, 2011 2:37 PM (EDT):
I know you will not publish this. That is your choice. But at the same time you cut-off millions of sincere, devout Catholics. So where do we go from here??”
## It’s been published :)
Bob:
Hate to break it to you, but is there any other way to interpret those scriptures? People, whether gay lesbian bisexual transgender cisgender, or heterosexual all deserve the right to marry their soul mate whom they love. Families can be promoted without the discrimination of the gay lesbian transgender community, would you discriminate against sterile cisgender heterosexual people? Most likely not, so it’s silly to say just because your gay or transgender that you may not have a family.
there are many ideas a man can think but if he thinks it twice he thought about another idea which makes his idea nonsense…
how many time i do not do what i want to do but do what i dont want to do
Forget about religion, everyone look around your home . . . in order to use ALL your appliances, you need a male plug & a female outlet. To use your car, you need a male pump & a female gas tank. Even inanimate objects have to be male & female for us to use them!! According to all religious teaching, marriage is for procreation; homosexual & all sex outside of marriage,is reccreatonal sex. Unfortunately for some children, they were born out of wedlock because their “parents” were selfish and didn’t give a thought of what their actions might produce. In addition, all homosexual sex is abusive. How can you love someone and cause them physical pain at the same time? We need to remember that God, our Creator, knew exactly what He was doing when He made us male & female and when He instituated the Sacrament of Marriage.
As far as I know, in civil law marriage is a contract that provides civil benefits. I see no reason to have a sex-test basis for recognizing that civil contract.
Ms. Morse uses the words such as “forced” and “driven out” to characterize effects of enforcing the rule of law, but fails to explain the context. Certainly those who were “forced” or “driven out had other job choices and other areas where to exercise their religious preference. If in a civil society, I, as a Catholic, can pick and chose against whom I discriminate, against whom I exercise my religious beliefs, then who shall arbitrate my judgments? A church appointed court? It is of little or no consequence to the Catholic Church for others to chose how they identify their partnership in civil society.
@marlene on Wednesday, Dec 22, 2010 3:09 PM (EST). If it was your son or daughter that was saved by a gay doctor, medic, soldier, translator, computer expert, supply clerk, or special forces personnel, would you care? Would you take your own son’s or daughter’s life just to make it up to God? Would you want God to punish and damn these people to hell for doing there job well and being in a loving relationship in their private lives?
Personally, I am thankful that we’ve moved so far in 50 years. The work of Alan Turing may have shortened WWII by a year or two, and he is regarded as one of the father’s of Computer Science. I’m glad he decided to served despite being a criminally homosexual.
@marlene on Wednesday, Dec 22, 2010 3:09 PM (EST). If it was your son or daughter that was saved by a gay doctor, medic, soldier, translator, computer expert, supply clerk, or special forces personnel, would you care?
Personally, I am thankful that we’ve moved so far in 50 years. The work of Alan Turing may have shortened WWII by a year or two, and he is regarded as one of the father’s of Computer Science. I’m glad he decided to served despite being a criminally homosexual.
Wow, our Church, doesn’t discriminate against homosexuals! She, as a loving Mother, asks them to realize because they aren’t attracted to the opposite sex, doesn’t automatically make them homosexcual. There are many heterosexuals out there who have given their lives to God to let the world know that He exsists. That is also the mission of the homosexual. Heterosexuals, living chaste lives, have no desire to be married. Not because they choose it, but because they understand, through prayer, what God, Himself, is asking it of them. Any Catholic who thinks the Church discreminates against ANYBODY, doesn’t know their faith. I don’t choose my doctor or dentist etc., because they’re Catholic. If that happens to be the case, I consider myself lucky because we’re on the same page in our beliefs. I wouldn’t go to anyone, for any services, if they trash my Catholicity or God for that matter. That would be a definite red flag. As Catholics we don’t judge or criticize. We consider marriage to be a very serious, holy Sacrament of our Church and want it to be respected as such.
@Patti Hobin on Tuesday, Dec 20, 2011 1:26 PM (EST) “Any Catholic who thinks the Church discreminates against ANYBODY, doesn’t know their faith.”
I have been thinking about your statement. As a women, what is fundamentally different about your nature that disallows you from leadership roles reserved for men in the church? Is it because God does not wish it because women betrayed man and brought sin into the world? I think not. More likely women know their place in God’s creation, and because of their sex, they understand they are fundamentally incapable of fulfilling priestly duties which God reserves for men. Perhaps you do not call this discrimination. Others might.
Mind-boggling article! We are just starting out in social networking and now we are wanting to learn how to fully capitalize on SMO for local business.
Keep up the good work!
What you are standing on is opinion but what have you based your opinions on?
Here are some facts.
In he book “After The Ball” written by Marshall Kirk and Hunter Madsen you will read the formula laid down by gay activists on how to over throw the status quo.
1. Saturate the media with sound bites ( lies or truth do not matter. It is the goal that matters.
2. Use “good propaganda to make homosexuality more palatable to the public.
3. Portray Gays as victims. …get the sympathy of the public.
4. Make anti gay groups look bad. They are the victimizers.
5. Last bastion to conquer the Christian Church.
The last chapter suggests a return to Plato’s idea of man love where an older gent take a young boy under his wing and schools them in the lifestyle of homosexuality.
Truth number 2:
Peter Tachell is a leading advocate for lowering the age of consent to 14.
Stonewall advocates lowing the age of consent.
Here is a little piece from the Canadian Parliament:
“ Egale ( Canada’s LGBT human rights organization)
is opposed to raising the age of consent from 14 to 16. …….. Egale believes very strongly that it is possible, even common, for 14- and 15-year-olds to consent to sex, even with people over the age of 20.
PARLIAMENT, 1st SESSION Standing Committee on Justice and Human Rights EVIDENCE CONTENTS March 27,2007”
We have to question “why” these groups want the age of consent lowered. What is the motive?
Get the facts Christian and stop standing on opinions based as shifting sands.
Play offense, not defense and you may win the cultural war by truth, facts and exposing what the gay community themselves write, participate in and do.
>“because the state of Massachusetts insisted that every adoption agency in the state must allow same-sex couples to adopt.”
I wish people would stop repeating this lie - it makes it impossible to have an honest conversation. Massachusetts does NOT require that, and Mormons, for instance, still have an adoption agency in MA that doesn’t allow gays to adopt.
Catholic Charities is free to have an adoption agency that doesn’t allow gays to adopt. It is simply that the State will not fund their operation with tax money - they will have to pay for it themselves.
As in “Charity”
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