Gay Marriage?

         Coming from an area close to San Francisco, a breeding ground for gay men, I have seen how much the views on gays and gay marriage differ.  I think this is probably because of the way each of us were brought up, and the people we were around.  In California,  it seems that gay people and marriage are accepted more so than in Texas, perhaps because California has chosen to legalize gay marriage.  What's the difference?  Why do gay people want to have the right to get married so much?  

         Persons against gay marriage believe that it is contrary to their religion for same-sex marriages.  They see it incorrect for persons of the same sex to get married, and therefore believe that they should not have the same rights that most married couples receive.  They say that the lifestyle is dirty and don't want their families exposed to that type of lifestyle.  

         Persons in favor of gay marriage believe that it is their right to have the same opportunities as “normal” couples.  They feel that it is discriminating to not allow persons of different sexual preferences to have the same rights.  Many gay persons want the right to get married simply because they want the law and government to recognize them as an actual married couple.

         Many places across the U.S. have different views on this controversial topic.  The more southern the state, the more against the unification of the same sex they are.  I believe that the government shouldn’t be allowed to control the rights that couples have.  What’s the difference?  Who should be able to tell people what to do?  When should the government’s power be limited?

  

Modern Day Hitler

On Sunday, I decided to try something that I had not done in a while. I went to a Southern Baptist church service. Normally, when I do attend church I go to an Episcopalian one. What I saw and heard at this service was unlike anything that I was expecting.

The pastor was not even actually in the church. He was being broadcasted on television and everyone in the church was watching. This was odd to me. Why couldn't someone else actually stand up in font of the church and actually engage them as an audience? The things that he said were even more confusing to me. He started saying things like "The government is an evil being only out there to steal from us." As I looked around the church after this was said, I realized that I was the only one who was shocked by this notion. Everyone else seemed to believe it. The pastor then went on to talk about gays. "Nuts and nuts just don't mix! It's supposed to be a man with a woman. Any man with a man shall burn in hell!" I looked around once more, if someone was gay in the church he would surely be ashamed of himself. It made me think about being raised and brought into this culture, this different type of thinking. If you were gay, you would probably live in fear of anyone finding out. I felt like the pastor was basing everything off of fear.

One of the things that struck me was this line "I am going to tell you who to vote for." Everyone seemed to listen intently to his following words. He went on to describe a certain political candidate(John McCain). It seemed like he was endorsing him for all of the wrong reasons. The fact that he wanted McCain to win actually made me think that it would be better if Obama won, just because I didn't want to believe in anything that this crazed man was saying.

Eventually, after about an hour of his speech, I decided that I could bear it no longer so I walked out. I realized how captivating of a speaker this man was, and how he could easily get some people to believe his messages but did everyone actually buy into this? Are other religions like this?

To me religion is all about acceptance, and this church went against almost every one of my views. The pastor reminded me of a modern day Hitler, because of how captivating his speech was and how crazy it was. Are all Southern Baptist churches like this?