Free Writing Fridays: Iowa’s Same-Sex Marriage Ban Lifted

The Axiom Of Respect

Individuals Demonstrate Valid Behavior

By Treating Themselves And Others

Respectfully And Respecting

Only Those Who Earn It

By now, you have probably heard that the “Iowa Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling [last] Friday finding that the state’s same-sex marriage ban violates the constitutional rights of gay and lesbian couples, making Iowa the third state [along with Massachusetts and Connecticut] where [gay] marriage will be legal.” (“Iowa Supreme Court: Same-Sex Marriage Ban Is Unconstitutional“) This is an extremely important step toward equality for the LGBT Community, as each and every citizen of our country is entitled to the same rights and respect. Denying gays and lesbians their right to marry the partner they love is not only discriminatory, it is callous and cruel.

For those of you out there who resent this decision, please listen: Gays and lesbians do not choose their sexual orientation. Did you choose your brown eyes? Did you choose to be short or tall? Of course not, and you did not choose to be heterosexual either. If the citizens of a state voted to restrict rights based on eye color or height, we would have mass rebellion, yet you want to restrict someone else for an innate quality? That is complete nonsense.

And if you are going to give me the religious argument against homosexuality (Leviticus 20:13), you have just met your match! Why don’t you ever say anything about the passages in the same book that also pronounce eating shellfish an “abomination” (Leviticus 11:10-11), or the passages in Deuteronomy that call for stoning stubborn and rebellious children to death (21:18-21)? According to the Christian religion, these laws were for those living in the time of Moses, and the New Testament, not the Old, apply today because Jesus died on the cross for our sins, making a New Covenant. If you really love Jesus as you say you do, you would love all of your neighbors, not a selected few. (May I suggest you watch Prayers for Bobby on April 19, 2009 at 9:00 P.M. ET on Lifetime.)

We must all put ourselves in one another’s place and come to an understanding that is logical and rational. It is my hope that what transpired in Iowa is only the beginning: “New Jersey and New Hampshire also offer civil unions, which provide many of the same rights that come with marriage. New York recognizes same-sex marriages performed elsewhere, and legislators there and in New Jersey are weighing whether to offer marriage. A bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in Vermont has cleared the Legislature but may be vetoed by the governor.”

Please. Let’s stop pitting ourselves against one another because of our intrinsic differences and follow Magna Sententia’s Axiom of Respect. If we do, our world will be a much better place.

Anna Sherise
Co-Creator of Magna Sententia
Co-Author of Magna Sententia: The Logical Cure for Our Society