Gay Marriage Winning? Freedom is Fighting Back

Gay Marriage Winning?

Yes, freedom-fighting conservatives have some recent
developments to lament.

Homosexual marriage is becoming the
mainstay across the country, or at least its culmination in statehouse
and finally the Supreme
Court seems likely.

In spite of the strongest push from pro-marriage advocates, Finland
approved gay marriage.

Ireland, formerly known as “Winterland” to the Romans, and
“The Celtic Tiger” to economists during the roaring gains of the late 1990s and
2000s, has
said “I do” to homosexual marriage, as well. How the status of marriage
could be so radically redefined, and by popular vote in one of the most
Catholic countries in the world, has left many culture warriors shaking their
hands, wringing their hands, asking the question: “Where did we go wrong? How
did we miss this outcome?” With the best efforts, even from the most ardent of
pro-family advocates, the polling seemed to indicate that true marriage would
win out.

Is there any hope at the end of the six-colored rainbow?

Yes.

First of all, the rising number of celebrities getting
married is getting
very little attention. Barry Manilow got married (to a man, not Mandy). Yawn. The
novelty of this exercise in social justice is gone. There is a small yet
diligent cohort of men and women who espouse conservative/libertarian values, yet
also identify as homosexual. One of many left-leaning movements defined by its
totalitarian intolerance, the Gay Left movement is leaving many otherwise
conservative, right-leaning
homosexuals behind. Their sexual behavior and feelings
are a side issue. Breitbart’s Milo Yiannopoulos whines: “I
am sooooo bored of being gay”. Sarcastic or serious, gays are starting to
rethink the gay agenda.

Milo: "I am sooooooo bored of being gay"

Many people who lived homosexual lives are leaving the lifestyle.
More Americans want
live-and-let-live. Children
of gay parents now report the negatives of their upbringing.

Another pressing reality has surged: the world has taken
marriage for granted, and must learn once again what marriage is, and why
marriage matters. Young conservative activist Stephen Crowder explores how marriage strengthens
societies. The Heritage Foundation established that strong families keep
children out of poverty, too. While the forces of cultural traditions and shame
from our elders have failed, broken homes and breaking communities may bring to
light the truth of why marriage, one man and one woman, matter.

Indeed, hate is not the answer, and no one who supports true
marriage advocates hatred. The truth sets us free, and the militancy of the homosexual
agenda has forced Western Civilization not just to question its basic
principles, but finally to answer why they must endure.

From a political and legal standpoint, however, what is the
endgame on “gay marriage”? What will happen to the churches, charities, and
small businesses under attack from homofacsists?

Ironically, two deep
Southern states have started pursuing legal reforms to rectify this sticky
problem. The Oklahoma state legislature discussed a bill which would remove
state marriage licenses, so that couples, where gay or straight, would have to
seek a clergyman or a notary public for a testimony of matrimony.

In fact, the Washington Times could not have
reported it more succinctly:

The aim of the bill is to get the government out
of marriage-licensing activities and “leave marriage in the hands of the
clergy,” state Sen. Todd Russ, the
bill’s lead sponsor, said according to KFOR NewsChannel 4 in Oklahoma City.

I have met individuals who for all intents and purposes are
conservative, aside from whom they choose the sleep with. If live and let live
will be the expanded norm in our society, then getting the government out of
the institution should work with all concerned parties.

The Tenth Amendment Center of Los Angeles added:

The Oklahoma bill
would “accomplish two things,”

“First, it would
render void the edicts of federal judges” who have overturned state marriage
laws, the center said.

Second, it would get
the state government “out of defining marriage” and end “the squabble between
factions that seek to harness the power of the state.”

Not just Oklahoma, but Alabama
has also take the same step of getting the state out of the status of
blessed matrimony. A
pro-homosexual website article writes:

The
bill doesn’t prevent anyone from getting married — it merely means that no one
has to apply for a marriage license first. A marriage must still take place
with an accepted officiant, and two witnesses. The bill must still pass the
State House, as well.

Since
this legislation wouldn’t prevent same-sex couples from getting married, if
marriage equality becomes American law, it’s clear that the goal isn’t to
completely prevent same-sex marriage. Instead, perhaps Roy Moore and other
Alabama justices are satisfied simply to feel absolved of ever giving
permission for one.

Honestly,
that is what freedom of conscience is all about: “to feel absolved” from having
to participate in certain activities which violate your beliefs: officiate a
homosexual marriage, bake a gay wedding cake, etc.

Case
in point: a few months ago I engaged in a heated conversation with another conservative.
He agreed that individuals may not necessarily be born gay (or straight), and that
of necessity individual Americans must strive to protect and expand religious
liberty. The most important point he made to me, however, and subsequently a
number of conservative activists, here in Los Angeles as well as across the
country, is the need to pick our fights.

Just
as Oklahoma and Alabama recognized the bigger issue, government tyranny
imposing on individual rights, so too conservatives across the country should
not skirmish with individuals or manifest groups attempting to redefine
marriage.

As Deacon Keith Fournier shared
following
Ireland’s “Yes” vote last week, marriage has not changed. Ireland has,
reverting to a “pre-Christian” stance. Ireland can relearn the blessed
principles of Western Civilization, the values of individual life and liberty,
within the scope of a limited, God-fearing government. Let’s focus on
relearning our liberty, getting undue government influence out of our lives.

Gay
marriage may be winning small battles, but the war to define and restore
liberty has only begun, and victory remains in sight.