There are a lot of issues out there that are political and for the life of me I don't know why. Most are personal issues that should have nothing to do with government. Certainly there are plenty of things I believe the government should get involved in, but the following list (part one) is not included:
Prayer in Public Schools
We have a separation of church and state. WHAT THAT MEANS IS our government cannot tell us who or what or how to worship. Remember our country was founded on the freedom of religion. Remember that your ancestors came here fleeing religious persecution. Freedom of religion was established in the first words of the first sentence of the first amendment of the Bill of Rights: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;...".
Do you see it? It's so obvious if it were a snake it would have bitten you by now. Not only does the separation of church and state as established by the first amendment keep a government run and funded institution from telling you what and who and how to worship, but it also cannot keep it's citizens from worshiping in said government run and funded institution. Too many big words for you? Individual prayer is allowed in school. By anybody. The first amendment protects your right to pray anywhere you bloody want to. Even in school. Any child, student, teacher, faculty or bureaucrat can pray in school. The law only stipulates that the government (including government paid employees such as said teacher, faculty member or bureaucrat, and government paid for materials such as AP system, copy machine, grounds, buildings, etc.) cannot authorize, be used for, lead or otherwise endorse any religion on its students. I'm going to encourage my child to pray in school whenever he or she wishes. BUT I also intend to teach my child common courtesy so their praying will not disrupt their actual reason, and their fellow students' reason, for being there... which is to learn.
If you want your child to learn about religion, send them to Sunday school or a religious, private school. Let public schools do what they are intended to do: teach your kid history, English and math (and how to play a musical instrument, speak another language, act, report, and so on).
Definition of Marriage
I keep hearing about the definition of marriage these days. Who defines it? God or government? If government does, does that mean churches HAVE to bow down? No. I don't think so. Mostly because I believe this to be a religious issue and we have a separation of church and state for a reason (see above).
I heard about a pastor or priest in Sweden (hello! Sweden not the USA!) who was arrested for discrimination because he would not marry a gay couple. That incident was used to argue against gay marriage here in the states. Personally, in the USA, I can't see a police department doing such a thing. Or a gay couple pressing such charges. I've heard of pastors/priests who refuse to marry people because they say they won't have kids; because one is not the right religion; because one was married before; because it's interracial; etc. Never heard of them getting arrested because of it. It is kinda like, "we have the right to refuse service to anyone", you see posted at restaurants and the like. It applies to churches as well and I have absolutely no problem with it. Not like there aren't plenty of churches, pastors and priests out there who have no problem marrying anyone and everyone. PLENTY of choice out there for religion and church (Hello, county's first amendment, see above for history lesson.).
But back to my main point. Why do churches care if there is gay marriage? Why do they care who a justice of the peace, a boat captain, an internet ordained buddy, etc. marry? If they want to keep gay marriage out of their church, fine and good, they have that right already after all.
And don't come back and say it will then lead to people marrying animals. That is just plain stupid! Until, of course, animals have birth certificates, social security numbers, are able to say "I do" and sign their names. But I really doubt we'll see that in our lifetimes. ;)
Anyway, you can get married in a church without a license if you want. You don't get the wonderful government bennies, but as far as you and your church are concerned, you are married in god's eyes, right? Churches probably have the right not to acknowledge common law or marriage done outside of the church, regardless of its legality by the government, right?
No one dies because of gay marriage. It is not like their getting married changes your marital status. Or changes the ability for single, straight people to get married one iota. Gays need to know that if they are with someone for decades and one partner dies, some third cousin can't step in and take everything they ever owned jointly. They need to know they can visit their loved one in the hospital and make medical decisions when necessary. They need to know they can keep their child if one partner dies. These are important and they shouldn't have to become a corporation for such things to be legal for them.
So what exactly changes if gays get married? Just the three things I pointed out above. Are those three things really against god's will? And I don't see why it is not legal already. There is nothing out there that says same sex marriage is illegal. I don't know why governments actually have to legalize something that already is really. I think that is why the definition of marriage has come up. Because gay people haven't realized it is already legal (or at least not illegal) and straights need to make it illegal before they find out.
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