Mark My Words - commentary on news, politics, religion, philosophy, science and social issues

An interesting article addresses this conflict and has criticism for extremes on both sides of the issue.

But the debate over the idea of gay marriage has brought out concerns by one extremist end that it will lead to people marrying their livestock to Gay Gestapo charges of homophobic bigotry against those opposed to same-sex nuptials.

That last part about the Gay Gestapo might go down easier for some, if they knew that the author is Tammy Bruce, who describes herself as "an independent gay woman", after saying "neither accusation is valid".

She continues, with something that I've heard before, but it was second hand and I couldn't verify it.

I think it’s time to make a few things clear. First of all, despite what you hear from the Gay Elite, there is not a consensus in the gay community about this issue. We do not all operate in the cultural or political equivalent of a Vulcan mind-meld.

She indicates that she respects traditional institutions and criticizes the knee jerk tendency of the left to tear them down. She also makes a good point about amending the Constitution on this matter. After all, isn't this one of our cherished traditional institutions? On that point, my view is that a Constitutional amendment should not take away the option from state legislatures to decide the matter. It's one thing, to protect said legislatures from overreaching judicial activists, but it would be just as much an overreach, to prevent them from instituting some legally defined relationship other than traditional marriage.

She also hits pretty hard at some arguments offered in favor of gay marriage.

Gays ultimately need to stop looking to government for unconditional love and approval of who we are. Andrew Sullivan, a political commentator and writer many of you know and respect, wrote a piece for Time magazine where he actually equated governmental recognition of gay marriage as a necessary element to all gay people feeling accepted and wanted. He claimed that anything other than marriage will “build a wall between gay people and their own families.”
While his story was personal and moving, the argument was, frankly, nonsense, and representative of the general mentality among the gay elite. It also gives the government and other people’s opinions far too much power over the quality of our lives and effectively eliminates our own responsibility for our happiness.
Part of the fight for gay marriage is based in Sullivan’s lament—that it is only governmental recognition of who are that will make us whole. Let’s get real—the only thing that will make gay people whole is personal acceptance of ourselves by ourselves. Instead, we are still looking to Mommy or Daddy, now in the form of Society, to tell us we’re Okay. To sanctify, if you will, our lives and relationships.

Before some heads explode over that, remember Tammy Bruce is "an independent gay woman". Then again, the very extreme might just vaporize completely with that added detail.

Read her entire article. It's thoughtful and a perspective both sides need to hear from.

---

Filed under: Politics -- Culture

Trackposted to: Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Perri Nelson's Website, Rosemary's Thoughts, Right Truth, Big Dog's Weblog, Shadowscope, Wake Up America, DragonLady's World, Leaning Straight Up, The Amboy Times, The Uncooperative Radio Show! Special Weekend!, Pursuing Holiness, Right Celebrity, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, Stageleft, Wake Up America, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, Right Voices, Church and State, Right Pundits, Blog @ MoreWhat.com, Committees of Correspondence, 123beta, Jeanette's Celebrity Corner, Adam's Blog, Nuke's News & Views, Webloggin, Cao's Blog, The Bullwinkle Blog, The Florida Masochist, , Conservative Cat, Conservative Thoughts, Public Domain Clip Art, , Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Faultline USA, , The Crazy Rants of Samantha Burns, Walls of the City, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Planck's Constant, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, High Desert Wanderer, Gone Hollywood, The Yankee Sailor, and OTB Sports, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.