The Supreme Court congregated this past June 26 to come to a closing verdict for the Obergefell v. Hodge's case. Avoiding any confusing legal terms, by a 5 to 4 vote, the Supreme Court of the United States decreed that the fundamental right to marry shall be shared by same-sex couples. Gay marriage was legalized nationwide that day. Justice Anthony Kennedy publicized his thoughts on the outcome:
"No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice, and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were," As some of the petitioners in these cases demonstrate, marriage embodies a love that may endure even past death...It would misunderstand these men and women to say they disrespect the idea of marriage. Their plea is that they do respect it, respect it so deeply that they seek to find its fulfillment for themselves. Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right."
Naturally, people of all creeds, cultures, genders, and sexualities should all be treated equal. It is something we learn in grade school: "treat others the way you want to be treated." All equalities, including marriage equality, are products of the progressive world we live in, or should be living in. As triumphant and significant June 26, 2015, was for America's large LGBT community, it is almost disappointing that equality for all is a standard our society must strive to maintain.The Supreme Court's judgement raised ridicule by politicians, especially several running Republican Presidential Candidates, usually phrased to question if the Supreme Court is the "ultimate supreme being" in judicial cases manufacturing laws.
That is not anything new. It is not the story. Rowan, Kentucky, county clerk Kim Davis is. Davis, as part of her job description for her government job, was supposed to issue marriage licenses to all applicants. Regardless of sexual identity. Davis refused to issue marriage licenses to same-sex complex the entire summer. In one incident, recorded on a camera, depicts two men showing Davis the governor's letter allowing their marriage along with a copy of the Supreme Court's order. Davis still refused. One of the couples Davis denied brought her to court, where the judge held her in contempt of court, jailing her until she agreed to issue same-sex marriage licenses. That was in the beginning of September.
Five days later- September 8- Davis was greeted outside the jailhouse by her supporters, who came in droves to cheer on her cause. Davis met both her lawyer and Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee on a set up stage, running out to Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger" as her theme song. Sounds more along the lines of an inhumane punchline to an Aristocrats joke but that actually happened. Davis emerges "victorious" from her "ordeal". An ordeal comprised of imposing one's beliefs onto others, persecuting those for their sexuality, and plainly not doing a job one is employed to do. Davis' newfound followers, drawn in by her religious convictions, exclaim her to be a hero. Teachers from my hometown school district sat in jail for just as long, probably even longer, for going on strike in 2001. The plight of the teacher in a country that does not value its education as much as it should, that is a true cause worth rallying behind.
Mixed responses are evoked when asking various politicians on their feelings on Davis. Sourced by the Lexington Herald-Leader, the phrase "rule of law" pops up quite a few times when pressing attorneys and governors for statements. Yes, the law of the land may not sit right with some, but it is still the law. Abiding by laws mapped out in front of us to follow, like a path, is necessary to be a part of and participate in civilized society. Laws preventing gay marriage were overturned by the Supreme Court, making it...a law. There will always be outliers in a society: those who do not abide by the law. Extreme circumstances calls for the jailing or punishment for refusing to operate safely within society's boundaries. Davis' jailing for not doing what the law asked her to do is justified. No one is above the law.
Before traveling to Rowan, Huckabee, a preacher turned governor turned Fox News talk show host, stated: "I'm headed to Kentucky on Tuesday to stand with Kim Davis. We must end the criminalization of Christianity." Republican presidential competitor Senator Ted Cruz responded to Davis' case:
"...judicial lawlessness crossed into judicial tyranny...the government arrested a Christian woman for living according to her faith. This is wrong. This is not America...Davis should not be in jail. We are a country founded on Judeo-Christian values...I call upon every Believer, every Constitutionalist, every lover of liberty..."
Cruz was blocked from reaching the stage Davis ran onto by a member of Huckabee's staff. In the video recording Davis denying a gay couple's marriage license, the clerk said, "Our Constitution was founded on faith. By the word of God." One of Davis' many religiously tuned followers answered in an interview: "I believe she is right. She is following God's law and I believe that trumps all."
The misconceptions from the aforementioned quotations are as follows: 1. America's federal government is leading a witch hunt against Christians. Not possible. They were the ones to usually organize those. 2. Davis is being punished for practicing her First Amendment rights, freedom of religion. She is not practicing it, she is hiding behind to discriminate against people seeking an opportunity to be equal in our society, abusing her power as county clerk. 3. The power of religion, its morals and beliefs, are laws greater than our own earthly laws we put in place. Lastly: 4. Our country was solely founded by the religiously repressed, founding our Constitution based off these beliefs.
To spin these fallacies around, we turn to ACN lead anchor Will McAvoy, played by Jeff Daniels in HBO's The Newsroom. McAvoy, whose portrayal is highly professional despite not being real, reports on real events that made headlines, using real quotes from real politicians running at the time; fictional, or faux (Jon Stewart, John Oliver, Stephen Colbert), reporters seem to have the uncanny ability to make more sense out of the news than real reporters.
In an interview protesting the construction of the Muslim community center (not a mosque) adjacent to Ground Zero, McAvoy counters the religious advocate by bringing up all the malicious crusades, past and modern, done in the name of Christianity. Christian radicalists or white supremacy groups are extreme examples, but Davis cannot play the religion card for immunity and the right to bully others. Reacting to the attendants booing a gay solider at a 2012 Republican presidential debate, McAvoy humanly reminds us what the men and women in service, gay or straight, do for our country. Homophobia sees past the character of its victims and targets what makes them different. Aside from Cruz's "Judeo-Christian values", America was founded and prides itself off of its military, even overlapping other values we hold dear. It is disheartening that the people who risk their lives for our country's values are not honored for that duty because of their sexuality.
Lastly, McAvoy disproves any falsities about whether America was based off of religious values by quoting the Founding Fathers, the Treaty of Tripoli, and the U.S. Constitution itself. Unfortunately for Davis, the Constitution was not founded off of God's word. It clearly says, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion."
Our freedoms are not indefinite; they are limited.
Just this past March, Indiana passed its Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Its purpose was to allow business owners and companies the right to exercise their religious beliefs. Legally, business entities are considered people. The bill was immediately opposed by LGBT rights activists. Business owners could discriminate who they do business to. They could potentially only sell to or service straight people, refusing gay customers. Exactly what Kim Davis was doing. Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard assured interviewers he would issue executive orders enforcing the city's human rights ordinance, a clause banning businesses' discrimination for sexual orientation and identity. The fallout after Indiana's RFRA led sports teams, entertainers, and businesses from boycotting or avoiding Indiana. Actor George Takei jumped in on the boycott, ridiculing Indiana's choice over social media and on interviews. Which is something he did with Kim Davis' situation.
The reasoning against gay marriage many politicians use starts with the idea of a "slippery slope". A logical device for debating, or less logical arguments, the slippery slope starts off its premise with an exception. Gay marriage is the exception filling the blank space that could be used for almost any topic. The Huffington Post quotes the chain of events as going something like this:"'If we allow same-sex couples to marry, we're going to have to allow polygamy! We'll have to allow people to marry children! And their pets! And toasters!'" Jessica Gerson points out that marriage can only happen between two consenting, human adults. Children are too young to give consent or understand sex, animals are not human, the latter two being crimes, and object sexuality is extremely rare. The disgusting equivocation of gay marriage to pedophilia and beastiality is not only completely disproportionate, but downright dehumanizing.
A New York Times article from 2010 examines the staunch refusal to implement anti-bullying campaigns to protect gay students. School systems reasoned against teaching about gay or lesbian lifestyles as it could be too much for the younger children to comprehend. Acceptance of others is factorial in successfully developing into a functioning adult. The teachers and the school districts came under fire by parents and community leaders for having pro-gay motives in an ant-bullying campaign. One superintendent told a group of parents, "Everyone in our community needs to feel safe and visible and included," after they tried to pull their children from the school system and lost in court. It was over a children's book title "And Tango Makes Three" about same-sex parent penguins that their children read in school. Talk about trigger warnings.
“We do not want the minds of our children to be polluted with the things of a carnal-minded society,” said Montana pastor Rick DeMato, actual age 69 at the time. DeMato went on opposing the new curriculum: “Of course we’re all against bullying. But the Bible says very clearly that homosexuality is wrong, and Christians don’t want the schools to teach subjects that are repulsive to their values.”
A Helena, Montana, mother said at a school board meeting: "Anyone who reads this document can see that it promotes acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle." A "political agenda", the New York Times' interviewees called it, known as the "hidden homosexual agenda", that can only be characterized as the "legitimiz[ation] of same-sex marriage."
If one considers equality for all "an agenda", asking for freedoms like marriage equality and protections from harassment from homophobic groups, then yes. Stresses fume over how social movements are pushed on us. We almost forget how accepting people is a part of being a decent human being. Change seems to fall on deaf ears so easily while hate resonates throughout so many. In fact, so many go out to demonize this made up "homosexual agenda". Backwards thinking is the age-old adversary to progression. I find homophobia repulsive to my values. Yet we still hear noise about " advocate groups" spreading their own brand of hate, only citing the wrathful God from the Bible's Old Testament. So, how come we never hear about "the homophobic agenda"?
After all, weddings are fun. Convictions to bigotry are abominable.
