From the video: "The freedom of families to raise children in an atmosphere that values and supports the unique importance of marriage between a man and a woman will be lost."
Here's the crux of the issue, I think. We're worrying about the loss of a "freedom" that doesn't exist and has never been guaranteed by the Constitution.
There has never been any guarantee that citizens of the United States would be able to raise their children in an atmosphere that supports their values. The very idea flies in the face of the ideals our country was founded on, because an atmosphere that supports the values of one group of people exclusively may be oppressive to the values of another.
Families will always be free to maintain their own beliefs and values and to teach those values to their children. But we cannot force those values on other people with whom we share our neighborhoods just so that our children don't have to be exposed to opposing schools of thought. Our neighbors must be allowed the freedom to maintain and practice their own beliefs, just as we demand the right to ours.
My wife and I have taught and will continue to teach our children that premarital sex is wrong. That is a value and belief that we subscribe to. But I fully support my neighbor's right to believe that there is no harm in casual consensual sex and to act on that belief. I would actively oppose legislation that would make extramarital sex illegal.
Obviously, some of my beliefs and values are shared by society as a whole--mostly those where the potential for harm to an individual's person or property exists. I do not support a person's freedom to kill or steal.
But the marriage of two consenting individuals, regardless of gender, does no harm to anyone else. We should not (do not) have the right to prohibit same-sex marriage. A gay couple's right to be provided the same opportunities as a straight couple trumps any supposed right I may have to mold the world outside my home to my liking.
2 comments:
From the video: "The freedom of families to raise children in an atmosphere that values and supports the unique importance of marriage between a man and a woman will be lost."
Here's the crux of the issue, I think. We're worrying about the loss of a "freedom" that doesn't exist and has never been guaranteed by the Constitution.
There has never been any guarantee that citizens of the United States would be able to raise their children in an atmosphere that supports their values. The very idea flies in the face of the ideals our country was founded on, because an atmosphere that supports the values of one group of people exclusively may be oppressive to the values of another.
Families will always be free to maintain their own beliefs and values and to teach those values to their children. But we cannot force those values on other people with whom we share our neighborhoods just so that our children don't have to be exposed to opposing schools of thought. Our neighbors must be allowed the freedom to maintain and practice their own beliefs, just as we demand the right to ours.
My wife and I have taught and will continue to teach our children that premarital sex is wrong. That is a value and belief that we subscribe to. But I fully support my neighbor's right to believe that there is no harm in casual consensual sex and to act on that belief. I would actively oppose legislation that would make extramarital sex illegal.
Obviously, some of my beliefs and values are shared by society as a whole--mostly those where the potential for harm to an individual's person or property exists. I do not support a person's freedom to kill or steal.
But the marriage of two consenting individuals, regardless of gender, does no harm to anyone else. We should not (do not) have the right to prohibit same-sex marriage. A gay couple's right to be provided the same opportunities as a straight couple trumps any supposed right I may have to mold the world outside my home to my liking.
Thanks for posting this one as well.
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