How Could Gay Rights Possibly Threaten My Traditional Marriage?

The christian rallying cry against granting same-sex couples the right to marry is that it is an abomination according to that ever-present holy book, the bible. Man should lie with woman, they should go forth and multiply, and so it was written, and so it was done, amen and hallelujiah. The bible also endorses slavery and permits murder of disobedient children, so let's agree that it's not exactly the bastion of morality that some would have us believe. Putting aside historical mythology, the contemporaneous argument against gay marriage is that it somehow weakens or threatens traditional marriage between a man and a woman. Let's see, what constitutes a threat to my marriage? I do. My husband does. People of the OPPOSITE sex do, in terms of infidelity. Arguably, our kids do. Likely, our finances, or at least our disagreements about them. Possibly, our divergent ideas on paint colors or vacation destinations. Definitely, our contrasting view on parenting. The rights of gay couples? Seriously? It doesn't even register on the most minute "threat-to-my-marriage" scale. How many fights have my husband and I EVER had based on the rights of Adam & Steve to marry? None. How many of the millions of traditional-marriage based divorces in this country can be ascribed to the existence of gay rights somewhere else in the country? None that I'm aware of. Did the traditional divorce rate spike in those states, like Massachusetts and Connecticut, progressive enough to permit gay marriage? Nope. Did Mel Gibson cheat on his wife and impregnate his mistress, thereby violating the sanctity of marriage and the covenants of his very fundamentalist religion, risking excommunication from the church HE built himself, because somewhere in Iowa there lurks a civil union between two people with penises? Unlikely.

What is the problem with granting our gay citizens the basic human right to form a legally-recognized marital bond? To put it in human rights terms makes objections seem too inhumane, which is why the church prefers to cloak the issue in biblical terms, calling homosexuality an atrocity in the eyes of god. It's a lot easier to preach against gay marriage, and get a critical mass of voting christians on board, when you can pass the buck to the almighty god! Gee, we're ok with gay marriage, but GOD, well, he isn't, so sorry (insert sheepish shrug here!).

Thank GOD for atheists and progressives who aren't bound by this small-mindedness! I happen to be a woman, happily married to a man I love, we have three wonderful children and a happy life together. But what if I had been gay? These things would not have come easily to me and I'd have to relocate within the U.S. just to enjoy the same basic rights as the majority of the also-human population. The fight for gay rights doesn't affect me personally except inasmuch as it is offensive to my sense of compassion and love for my fellow man that they are deprived unfairly of equal access. Granted, no fight this important is easily won (consider the battles surrounding women's suffrage and ending slavery), but the closed-minded can't stop progress, it will come eventually, they can only prolong the inevitable. And in the meantime, how many committed couples will not have the rights they need, to which they should be entitled, just because they aren't legally married? Health benefits, survivor benefits, hospital rights, etc. So don't call it marriage, call it a schmarriage. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet. Who cares? But we need to stop allowing the anti-gay marriage consortium to pretend that their opposition to same-sex marriage is based on anything but unadulterated bigotry and ignorance.