Love Wins? So Does Censorship. Here It Comes.

I have always been pretty steadfast in my support of gay marriage, much to the chagrin of a lot of my Christian friends.

It wasn't that I believed God is OK with homosexuality (I don't). For me, it was a purely political standpoint. I couldn't understand how in a free country like America, we could keep people from becoming legally married. I'd listened to arguments that redefining marriage would open the door to redefining it in truly scary ways in the future - like allowing people to marry their pets, or allowing perverts to marry children. The argument never swayed me. Marrying animals or children, after all, would mean victimizing someone (or something) who could not defend themselves. That isn't gay marriage. Gay marriage is about two consenting adults, not a...labradoodle or a 5-year-old.


To me, that argument...isn't even an argument.

This is how I've always viewed the legalization of gay marriage in America: if everyone is truly equal, truly free, then anyone should be able to get a marriage license, sign the appropriate papers, and have their union recognized by the nation. This has nothing to do with God's kingdom. God's Word never changes. God is against the same things today that He was against 2,000 years ago.

A government recognizing marriage is different than a church coming together to say that their theology has changed. America can recognize gay marriage, but that doesn't mean God will. So, where is the threat, right?

So imagine my shock yesterday when SCOTUS legalized gay marriage in all 50 states, and I didn't feel a sense of victory or excitement over the decision. I didn't feel an overwhelming sense of hopelessness, either, but I didn't feel much like celebrating like so many others did.

I guess it's because I doubt my own stance.
I fear that I've just become politically correct, and placed political correctness over God's truth.
It's partly because I know it doesn't stop here. This "war" is far from over. This blog post I'm writing right now...could be considered "hate speech" in the not-so-distant future. Churches could be banned from preaching that homosexuality is a sin. Pastors could be forced to marry gay couples.

And none of that is right.

I don't care what anyone says, believing that homosexuality is a sin is NOT the same thing as hating homosexuals. I don't agree with the way some people raise their kids, run their households, or view religion. But do I HATE them? Of course not. That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. This is not about hate. That's a Left-wing cop-out, so don't drink the Kool Aid. And voicing that opinion is not hate speech. It's called "freedom of speech" and a lot of people don't like that it exists these days, but it still does, and we need to fight for it. Freedom of speech doesn't apply only to things you personally agree with.

The Harrisburg Patriot-News (kind of an ironic name) is under fire for banning op-eds that are anti-gay marriage. There's nothing patriotic about this sort of ban. Can a company stifle speech? Sure. Should they? It's probably not a bright idea. There is no more pure reporting of the news anymore. The media has taken sides, and that should bother us greatly. There is no such thing as "unbiased" journalism anymore. (Dear Conservatives: Fox News is just as bad as CNN, MSNBC and the like.)

I guess what I'm saying is...gays getting married, in itself, shouldn't scare anybody.
Be afraid that you're not allowed to disagree with it. Be afraid that the media wants to shut you down for voicing an opinion. That's far more terrifying to me than Bob and Dave going down to City Hall to get a marriage license.

Love wins? Maybe. But so does censorship.