Good Luck Tomorrow

The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court. From left: Clarence Thomas, Sonia Sotomayor, Antonin Scalia, Stephen Breyer, Chief Justice John Roberts, Samuel Alito, Anthony Kennedy, Elena Kagan and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. (The Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States/MCT)

I just couldn’t settle on a blog topic for the night even though the day has been so full of life I could probably write a screenplay about the past twelve hours. I decided to throw out a plea for suggestions on Facebook and Doc Honeybear (of Doc Honeybear fame) came in with the first suggestion which is the one I said I’d write about when I said, “First come, first served.” She suggested the SCOTUS and so therefore, speaking of pleas…

PLEASE can I have equal protection under the law? Would that make a difference if I were extra polite about it? I don’t want to make your kids gay and I don’t want you to change your religion one little bit for my convenience. You can continue to think that I’m bad and wrong and going to hell (or at the very least mentally ill) and that my homosexual orientation is the product of something that happened to me sometime after October 15, 1965; I really don’t care. I’m square with my Creator on the subject. If you’re not, that’s your dilemma. I’ve had to learn to live with ignorant bigots on the same planet; you’ll just have to learn to live with queers.

I just want equality. Anyone who wonders why we are working so hard for marriage equality, anyone who wonders why it is such a big deal– if you need to see an example of why it is important, you need look no further than the example of my own story. And even I’m bored of that one so if you’ve just joined us, go back to September 1, 2014 and start there.

Here’s something else: It shouldn’t even have to be brought up because Americans certainly shouldn’t have to serve in the military to be afforded what we are all due but doesn’t it make some kind of difference to you that I was (and am) willing to give my own life in defense of your rights while you continue to work so hard to interfere with mine? I wore the uniform of The United State Marine because I wanted to defend rights, a lot of queer folk did. And you’re still hell-bent on keeping us in some kind of second-class citizen status? Shame on you!

 

With everything that is going on in this world, all the sick and suffering people who need help– if your religion leads you to believe that the best way to spend your time and money is to keep me from having what every straight person in America can have without even worrying about how, well, I actually feel sort of sorry for you.

I have a strong faith. I have a faith that has been tested (over and over). If I belonged to a religion that had me believing that I ought to try to get the government to legislate people into doing what my religion says, heck I think I’d get a better religion! Even if you were successful and got the courts to do your bidding 100% of the time and they made the law of the land reflect what you think they ought to because of your religion– how would you know people were actually “saved?” Doesn’t that sort of take the fun out of conversion? If your religion is strong and true, let it stand on its own merits and quick trying to beat me into your narrow theological mold using the government and its laws as a mallet!

I grew up in a church that taught it was a sin to have musical instruments in the worship service. All the singing was a capella and pianos and organs weren’t even allowed inside the church building for weddings! These were not bad people and as silly as this may sound to you, that was (and still is for some of them) their religious belief. Imagine if they were able to get the courts (or the Congress or the POTUS) to agree to make their religious beliefs the law of the land? Do you not see how this would be so contrary to the principles on which we, as a free nation, with freedom of religion, say we stand?

Being back down here in The South for the past year and a half has reminded me how good some Southern Christian Republicans can be. I have been blessed to be in contact with some of the best people I know who, because of their religion and party affiliation, are the ones a lot of my city-dwelling friends like to make fun of. But I’m going to tell you something: the old-guard Republicans that seem so heavily invested in depriving me of my rights are eventually going to have to wake up, create a new political party, or lose a lot of their younger constituents– because I rarely meet anybody under 30 down here that gives two hoots if I get married to a dude or not. They find the whole thing sort of selfish and stupid. I’m working out with one of them in the morning– a good upstanding member of the Church of God who’s usually voted for Republican candidates yet who (having had a spiritual awakening) can understand why it is absolutely un-American to be not allowing a portion of our population to enjoy the rights so freely given to the rest. I hope he and his beautiful wife have ten kids and raise them all to have good sense like they do!

I pray the Supreme Court does the right thing tomorrow– but in some ways it doesn’t matter. Truth is still Truth and you can’t wave that “Liberty and Justice for All” banner while practicing something else. As my Church of God buddy pointed out today, every great empire from the beginning of time has fallen and usually for the same reasons: foreign wars of expansion (even economic expansion) fueled on the blood of the poor while disregarding the wellbeing and rights of its citizens. Sound familiar?

So I am disinclined to wish the LGBTQ population and our supporters “good luck” tomorrow but rather would cast that sentiment toward those nine justices. History will not look kindly on you if you do not champion Equality. So to Your Honors I say, “Good luck.”

See y’all tomorrow.