On June 25, 2015, same-sex marriage was legalized in all 50 states and D.C., and for so many people, this day was a dream come true. However, the event caused a lot of commotion in the Christian community because, in many churches, the Catholic Church especially, marriage is only recognized as being between a man and a woman. Throughout the week after the ruling of the Supreme Court, I saw a lot of posts on Facebook that began with the statement "Not to offend any of my Christian friends..." First of all, who ever said that we would take offense? I attended a Catholic elementary, middle and high school, and I was not offended in any way when same-sex marriage was legalized; in fact, I was happy for those whose lives would be changed because of this new law. I was not offended when my friends who supported marriage equality made posts or shared pictures that showed their support. What I was offended by was this assumption that, because of my religion, I was going to be offended by the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Because I am Catholic, there are many things that I believe. I believe that abortion is wrong; I believe that marriage is intended to be between man and woman, but most of all, I believe that God loves all of His children. In high school, I was taught the teaching of the Bible in-depth, and while I believe that the Bible is not like trail mix — you can’t pick out all the parts you like and throw the rest away — I think that there are more important things that the Bible has to teach us. So what that Leviticus 20:13 says, “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood upon them.” We forget that the second commandment is “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” We forget that Jesus himself said, “He without sin shall cast the first stone.” We forget that the Golden Rule is “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” Hate the sin, not the sinner, right?
The Constitution calls for a separation of Church and State, and that is exactly what has happened with the passing of this new law. Not every Christian you meet is going to say that they are a supporter of same-sex marriage, or that they are happy about the new law the same way that not every atheist you meet will tell you that they think abortion is wrong, or that they are a supporter of Roe V. Wade, but that doesn’t mean that these people don’t exist. There will always be those people out there who say that the Bible says so, or that God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, but the acceptance of same-sex marriage in the Christian community is on the rise, and though it may not be accepted by everyone, this is a step.
I may not believe in same-sex marriage, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t think that those it affects deserve to be happy, or that I think they are less human because of their sexual preference. I believe that they are children of God, and though it may not be marriage in His eyes, I firmly believe that he will love them just the same. My religion does not define who I am just as your sexuality does not define who you are. Maybe it has had an influence on me, but I am not only Catholic the same way you are not only gay. Gay does not equal bad the same way that Catholic/Christian does not equal homophobic. So yes, I am Catholic, and yes, I do support same-sex marriage, or as it is now called, marriage.
