Letter: Gay marriage advocates should learn from Iowa Supreme Court case

Is public opinion against a gay marriage ban in Iowa or was this just a court decision? I was under the impression that it was the latter and this distinction is kind of important. The writer should make this more clear.

The courts don't always support majority opinion when they make a decision, which is one reason Prop. 8 passed even though courts had made a decision in California prior to this.

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• Posted by connerm on April 6, 2009 at 11:48 a.m.
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Letter: Gay marriage advocates should learn from Iowa Supreme Court case

I remember actually having to use a segregated restroom in Southern Oklahoma one summer when I was a child.

The sign said, "For Colored Only", and unlike the white restroom, it was dark and dingy. But I wasn't white, so I had no choice.

But I never did see any dark, dingy restrooms down South marked "For Gays Only." Not one. No water fountains marked with a pink triangle.

Gay activists often try to make it sound like the gay marriage agenda is comparable to the black civil rights struggle, but that comparison is honestly being perceived as extremely bogus and false within the majority of the black community.

(Btw, "extremely bogus and false" is the CHARITABLE interpretation. I have heard some interpretations that were, shall we say, far less charitable.)

Black Americans are NOT supporting legalized gay marriage, and they're NOT buying that "interracial marriage" analogy. There are some indications from past polls that blacks even oppose gay marriage MORE than whites do.

Remember how black Californians voted FOR Obama but AGAINST gay marriage last November? That was no accident folks. Here, take a careful look at this:

"Today, we look back with scorn at those who twisted the law to make marriage serve a racist agenda, and I believe our descendants will look back the same way at us if we yield to the same kind of pressure a radical sexual agenda is placing on us today.

"Just as it's distorting the equation of marriage if you press race into it, it's also distorting if you subtract gender."

--- Bishop Gilbert A. Thompson, black pastor of the largest Protestant congregation in Massachusetts, speaking in a Boston Globe interview (2004).

He's right, you know. Read it again. If you really want to know why Black Americans aren't buying into legalized gay marriage, read it again.

Like the Kansas Constitution says, "Marriage shall be constituted by one man and one woman only." That's exactly how it should be.

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• Posted by mellotron on April 6, 2009 at 10:28 p.m.
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Letter: Gay marriage advocates should learn from Iowa Supreme Court case

As a black lesbian, I have been a part of both struggles. I am also a citizen of Iowa. I grew up in this area and I treasure it. It is an example of the goals this country it trying to meet. It is a little strange to think, that had this not been a white majority, I would not have had the opportunity to marry my partner today. We have a constitution, and all of us struggle to make it a living breathing word. "And the word became flesh and walked, among us." For me that is an example of civil rights and same sex marriage.

Jesus is our example. He loved all of us. The cross did not leave anyone out. We will all be judged acording to his will.

There are laws that we take part in "deciding" whether we want them or not; but when the will of the majority overides the constitional rights of a minorty, because of race, religion, or sexual orientation then those laws must come under scrutiny. It Iowa it was decided that the ban on same sex marriage was unconstitutional.

Thank You Iowa, and God Bless

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• Posted by Cassaura on April 7, 2009 at 10:12 a.m.
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Letter: Gay marriage advocates should learn from Iowa Supreme Court case

I don't think Kansas will be one of those states, linguo.

The Kansas Supreme Court examined the state's voter-approved constitutional amendment on the definition of marriage, and found that it was indeed constitutional. Frankly, I wouldn't hold my breath on California either.

The legal battles will continue, of course. Beyond that, the battle for people's hearts and minds regarding this issue will also continue. What takes place in the heart, tends to outweigh what takes place in the court.

From the people in my life who have experienced or struggled with same-sex attraction, I have learned that the simple things -- unconditional love, unconditional listening, unconditional friendship, unconditional calmness, and unconditional honesty -- are valued deeply.

Within that context, I have sometimes had opportunities to offer a clear alternative to being gay or lesbian. Some of the residents of the ancient city of Corinth discovered that through the power of Jesus Christ, they were able to find genuine freedom and deliverance from homosexuality and other things (1 Cor. 6:11).

My personal experience has been that Jesus Christ is still causing such transformational miracles to take place in people's lives, even today.

It's kind of scary sometimes, because I don't want to "say the wrong thing" and drive anybody away. But as long as those unconditional items are kept in mind, people generally have been willing to consider the proposition that (1) change IS genuinely possible, and (2) NO life-situation, no problem, is too difficult for God to deal with (Jeremiah 32:17).

Currently I am using the following resource (among others) to help "break the ice" on this particular topic.

http://www.venusmagazine.org/cover_story.html

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• Posted by mellotron on April 8, 2009 at 5:43 a.m.
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Letter: Gay marriage advocates should learn from Iowa Supreme Court case

Hey, permit me to do a correction real quickly. I need to retract the sentence "The Kansas Supreme Court examined the state's voter-approved constitutional amendment on the definition of marriage, and found that it was indeed constitutional."

From what I can see via Google, nobody has tried to challenge the definition-of-marriage amendment in the Kansas Supreme Court as of yet.

(My apologies. It was the former Kansas Sodomy Law which the Kansas Supreme Court examined and upheld as constitutional, in the 1998 Max Movsovitz case.)

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• Posted by mellotron on April 8, 2009 at 6:14 a.m.
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Letter: Gay marriage advocates should learn from Iowa Supreme Court case

Well thank the gods that sodomy is still legal. Wait, is the Sodomy Law to legalize or ban bareback anal sex? And the swallowers, don't forget the swallowers. I mean, if it weren't for anal sex and blowjobs, I'd be pregnant by now. No, wait, that's not true, I'm a man.

I'm really amused at the "clear alternative to being gay or lesbian" thing. I've often considered alternatives to being straight. I've thought "Well, I do love anal sex and blowjobs, and a man would most likely be less hormonal than a woman, and I've heard over and over again how women make less than men, so it makes good economic sense for me to marry another guy." So the moral of the story here, actually, is that if you're concerned that people may be having hot gay sex, you should allow them to get married. If it doesn't outright stop the gay sex, it will at least reduce it by %90.

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• Posted by pantheon on April 8, 2009 at 8:28 a.m.
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Letter: Gay marriage advocates should learn from Iowa Supreme Court case

mellotron Suppose this, that some of us cannot change. That maybe God is challenging us to believe that he loves us no matter what. That he does accept those that love him. We all struggle with our identies and faith on some level. Can we save each other?.. I don't think so. We can pray for each other and minister to each other but salvation I believe is through Christ. On all levels. So yes pray for me.. and I will pray for you. Have a wonderful Easter.. We have had ressurection, we await his return.

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• Posted by Cassaura on April 9, 2009 at 12:18 a.m.
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