What is the True Conservative Position on Gay Marriage?
I pose this question because either I have a far better understanding of conservatism than most conservatives or I am so dumb that I should not be able to remember to breathe in and out. Since I’m still breathing, I’m going to have to assume there are a lot of “conservatives” who lack principles, or who at least lack the understanding of conservative principles. Granted, most people would consider me to be a libertarian but I assure you, libertarianism and true conservatism are one and the same. It is the media and other external influences which have managed to convince conservatives that up is down and black is white on a small handful of issues.
To paint a clear picture, I must first explain how marriage went from a religious institution to a government institution. Marriage, in one form or another, is older than written history. The oldest writings in the world post date the union of man and woman. The first laws with regard to marriage in this country were passed to keep blacks from marrying whites … yup, you read that right. Marriage laws were enacted and licenses required so that the government could tell individuals whom they could marry.
The idea that the government should have the rightful authority to tell two consenting adults that they could not marry one another based on the color of their skin screams of big government. Why then do many conservatives draw a distinction between miscegenation laws and the banning of gay marriage? Are the two not near identical in every detail of importance? You have government claiming powers not granted to it by the people via the US Constitution, nor do inter-racial and gay marriages infringe upon the rights of any other individual. What conservative, who truly understands conservative principles and holds them dear, would ever propose the idea that it would be perfectly fine to amend the US Constitution to stop two people from possessing a piece of paper. Must have been those “BIG government” conservatives like John McCain and George W. Bush. Not exactly great representatives of conservatism.
Please bear in mind that I am not saying that gay marriage is moral or immoral, that is not up to me and everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion. Nor am I saying that every church should have to perform gay marriages, that would be a violation of the first amendment. What I am saying is that conservatives must be of high enough intellectual caliber as to acknowledge that personal opinion does not have the force of law for a good reason. There must be a tall fence between those who exercise their right to an opinion and the full force of government regulation. If this all tastes rather bitter, consider that this fence defends the rights of both sides. Imagine if all the gun hating hippies could ban guns just because they don’t like them.
Let’s all be big enough people to recognize that the gay marriage discussion is not comprised of a single component. There are at least two separate issues at hand; first, is gay marriage immoral in your opinion. Second, and more importantly, are we willing to open the gates and allow our government to step outside the bounds of the constitution and risk that they next time they do it, it could be detrimental to our freedoms. I pose that the government is a necessary evil at best and should be in its cage at all times for if it ever escapes, it will one day come back to haunt us … I might even say that we are already there.
A true conservative is for the limiting of the power of government in all areas, including marriage. If two men or two woman truely love each other the same as a man and a woman why should they be denied the right of marriage? To those of you who outspokenly oppose same sex marriage here’s something you can do to minimumize its effect on you, mind your own business. If a same sex couple moved next door to you are you afarid they might try to make you “one of them?”, I doubt it. I have a very simple outlook on what my neighbors do, if they don’t infringe on mine and my family’s well being then I don’t care what they do in the privacy of their homes, I would like to recommend others try this approach, it makes getting along with people much easier.
I guess the same reasoning should apply to multi-partner marriages? Why stop at one? What about incestuous marriage? If I want to marry my daughter why should there be a law about that? How about my dog? How about I marry someone’s wife or husband — or both and have a gay-ol-time? Inter-racial marriage? To compare the racism of old America and the plight of blacks with gays is an offense to black people. Gays were not uprooted from their homeland, enslaved, abused, sold, seperated from their families, raped and murdered by their own government, kept separate and unequal, denied education, denied voting, considered 3/5 a real person, considered property, denied housing — all because the skin they were born with is a certain shade of brown! It’s like comparing a sexually/ physically abused child with a spoiled brat who was never abused but just wants to have his way.
Homosexuality is a behavioral choice, not a race or a nationality. I see the propaganda has penetrated even the most rational of people… unbelievable.