Recently, I asked someone I know and respect about his position on Prop. 8. The reason I did is that I know he is very active in the Catholic church, and I was curious as to whether he was toeing the Church line, or if he was taking a position in opposition to the Church. The man is married and has three kids. Here is his response. He did ask that I credit him by initials only, as the issue is quite volatile with some people, plus the fact that this was originally written as a private communication between two individuals, and was not intended to be published. However, after I read it, I thought it was so well thought out and reasoned that I asked him to allow me to share it with my readers.
Hey there, Bill.
Thanks for asking my opinion – you are definitely in the vast minority who knock on the door of the “fool on the hill!”
I happen to oppose Prop. 8. In all honesty, I don’t know who is “authorized” to determine the definition of marriage. What we see today is a tradition handed down from probably the earliest societies to populate the earth. These folks, our forebears, certainly had nothing to fall back on to determine the rudimentary bases of society. The “usual” sex drive in human beings has lead to heterosexuality, and that to procreation, and that to the establishment of societies. And if one follows the Judeo-Christian bible (and perhaps the tenets of other faith systems), the heterosexuality concept continues. But then, not all human beings subscribe to the bible.
I don’t see homosexuality as merely a choice. I think it is way more complex than that, and that everything we know about it at this moment in the history of mankind isn’t even the snowflake that has fallen onto the tip of the iceberg. I know there are some species in nature that begin their lives as one gender, and end their lives as another gender. I don’t see “choice” being a part in that transformation. I’ve also heard it said by people (whose thought processes I trust) that there are some bi-sexual species in existence as well. Those species can continue to ensure the continued existence of their species without the need of a partner of the opposite gender. So if God created those species, and armed with the knowledge that God doesn’t make junk, then it must be a good thing.
So, continuing along that line, it seems logical to me that the human race could possibly have similarities with those other “unorthodox” species, with “different” types of genetic composition within one species. All this leads me back to my first statement: who is the authority to dictate how it is to be?
The single fact that I do know is that I personally, am not that authority, that I and the vast majority of the electorate are woefully and absurdly un-qualified to speak to the subject, and I also have no reason to believe any leader of any religious or philosophical group or movement has been given such authority or specific subject knowledge either. I’m left to believe the “Yes on 8 folks” are speaking solely from their guts.
So, if homosexual couples wish to marry, not only is it fine by me, but I further believe they have the right (as in bill of rights) to do so. I really don’t believe society, as we know it, will vanish from the face of the earth without the likes of Prop 8. Ergo, I oppose Prop 8, and will be voting accordingly, even as an active member of a religious or philosophical group or movement which in fact strongly supports Prop. 8.
J.N., Upland