Bullying, Gay Marriage, Religious Conviction, Part 1

A few weeks ago, first Vice President Biden and then President Obama expressed their support for gay marriage.  It is a great day when such a statement is likely to not affect people's voting preferences; more people than ever support gay marriage, and these Presidential affirmations only seem to have further increased the number in favor.

Of course, all of this has a darker side; the day before Obama announced his support of gay marriage, North Carolina became yet another state to "protect" "traditional" marriage.  Despite ever increasing numbers, the polls for so-called "protection of marriage" amendments (more on these in some future entry) have not born this demographic shift out.  Perhaps this is because those who are most energized, and thus the most likely to vote in the issue are against gay rights, are the most paranoid about what might happen if homosexual relationships receive equal status.  In the weeks since Obama's affirmation, quite a few vocal opponents have come out of the wood works.  There was the pastor telling his congregants to beat their gay children straight, or the pastor who wanted to condemn Gay, Lesbian, Transgendered, or Queer (GLBTQ) people to concentration camps.  Interestingly, as Justin pointed out, many of those same "Christians" who equated Obama's mandates for women's health care with National Socialism were silent.  

As a person from Kansas, this silence is not surprising.  The now infamous pastor Fred Phelps of Topeka's Westboro Baptist Church spent a great deal of time and money protesting the very existence of homosexuality on street corners, funerals, and almost any other opportunity--even going so far as protesting Jerry Fallwell's funeral (Fallwell was apparently too supportive of GLBTQ), declaring that "Jerry Falwell Split Hell Wide Open"--without raising much of a stir.  Sure, folks took note when Phelps protested at Matthew Shepard's funeral, and the play Laramie Project was a direct response to Phelps' horrendous display.  However, Fred Phelps was nowhere near the national icon of infamy that he became after he started his military funeral protests.  Only when the sacred cow of the US military was attacked did many conservatives seem to understand the idea that protesting someone's funeral is despicable.

The likes of Fred Phelps and the above pastors represent extreme examples among opponents to gay rights.  Not all would support concentration camps, funeral picketing, or beating for our GLBTQ brothers and sisters.  We must endeavor to remember this distinction even if the less extreme, much more prevalent religious view that homosexuality is a sin akin to murder, lies, thievery, and dishonesty is not much more comforting, even if it is accompanied with the admonition to love the sinner as one hates the sin.  Moreover, the love the sinner, hate the sin mindset does much more to enable the extremists than those who hold it could realize.  Fortunately, it seems that increasing numbers of people are realizing that the sin is in the hatred itself; it cannot be in love.