Ultra-conservative fight for marriage amendment would deny basic right to many

Once again the forces of ultra-conservatism are on the march in Pennsylvania. Once again, their targets are gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender/transsexual people. This conservative force is made up of rightwing religious elements, national conservative groups and special interest segments of the far right that aren’t satisfied enough with the fact that there is already a state law that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

This union of intolerance is determined to take the state constitution, a document that grants rights and privileges, and add to it discrimination, prejudice, intolerance and second-class citizenship to this majestic document. Why is it that these groups never come together for the purpose of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked or housing the homeless?

Those who claim to be Christians act in a way that shows them to be anything but Christians. Christ left us with one simple commandment that rose above all others: to love God and one another.

I am waiting for someone from the far right to answer a basic question: How does preventing two members of the gay community from uniting as a family protect their own marriage, which has a 50 percent chance of ending in divorce? What possible threat is there to them other than touching upon inner insecurity?

Marriage is not a religious institution; it is a civil matter between two parties. The church does not “marry” couples; it witnesses the exchange of vows. Without a civil license issued by the government, no marriage is possible. No church will be compelled under any legislation anywhere to perform a ceremony for a gay couple if it is not already part of the norm for that church. Any suggestion to the contrary is nothing more than a scare tactic, which is a favorite tool of the right.

So what is really at issue here is whether gay people have access to the same government processes that others have access to. The taxes paid by gay people go to the same government that everyone else’s taxes go to.

They support the same public agencies and pay the salaries of the same employees as everyone else does. Shouldn’t gay people have access to the same benefits of their taxes? The only fair alternative would be to cut taxes for all gay people. Shall we amend the constitution to allow for this while equal access to a marriage license is denied? It is either that or equal access for all.

But this conservative drive goes even further. They wish to see the ability of two people to enter into a contract restricted based on their sexual orientation. This is a fundamental constitutional right that is at stake here.

The most disgusting part of their renewed drive for hatred is their desire to remove partner benefits such as health care. Most of the large corporations in America provide the same benefits to their gay employees as they do their straight employees. It costs the company no more than if they had an all-heterosexual work force.

This petty, hate-filled group wants to tell corporations who they can extend benefits to and who they can’t. If one of the partners in a same-sex relationship gets sick, has no health insurance and was prevented by some archaic law from getting his partner’s benefits, then who pays for that health care? The taxpayer, that’s who. So what is worse, a partner’s health insurance benefit or the taxpayer paying for that care?

One of the biggest arguments the right likes to tout as justification for denying equal rights to the gay community is that it might influence their kids. Utter ignorance is the only answer regarding why the right believes that a child will become gay if he or she sees a gay marriage. They just don’t get it.

A person is born gay; he or she does not choose to be gay. One cannot “change” a straight kid into a gay one if it isn’t already in the genes of that child. The only thing this kind of law does is potentially deny their kids or grandkids equal access and rights under the law. There have always been gay people and there will continue to be gay people, and nothing the right does can change that.

I urge all fair-minded people to contact their state senator and urge him or her to vote against any constitutional amendment that restricts the equal rights of the citizenry of this state. It is time to diverge from the ultra-conservative path in this country, for we have seen what that path has done to the honor, freedom, and moral standing of the United States. It has brought us to the near edge of destruction.

Guest Post By Rev. Bruce J. Simpson

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