Opposing Views: Maine Vote Says "Aberration" of Gay Marriage Doomed

Maine Vote Says "Aberration" of Gay Marriage Doomed

Opinion by ChristianNewsWire
(November 04, 2009) in Religion / Religion in Society

WASHINGTON -- On Tuesday, voters in Maine made the state the 31st to uphold traditional marriage by popular vote. Passage of Question 1, the ballot referendum that repealed the state legislature's same-sex marriage law, received wide support from Maine churches.

While the same-sex marriage repeal campaign received less funding than the pro-same-sex marriage campaign, religious groups played a strong role in both campaigns. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland was an early funder of the repeal campaign, while liberal religious bodies such as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, the United Church of Christ and the Unitarian Universalist Association opposed the measure.

The Institute on Religion and Democracy has published a new paper on the role of traditional marriage in society. Part of the Institute's Mount Nebo series, the paper examines the impact of marriage upon public life. It is available free for download at www.TheIRD.org.

IRD Vice President Alan Wisdom commented:

"Same-sex marriage proponents have labeled opposition to gay unions as driven by fear. On the contrary, many people support traditional marriage because of a positive belief in its intrinsic value as a building block of public life.

"Arguments for same-sex marriage view history as a straight-line narrative pointing towards ever greater sexual autonomy. Many Christian churches, however, note that history oscillates between license and responsibility.

"Placed in historical context, same-sex marriage is an aberration embraced by a small fraction of the world's population, not an inevitability as proponents suggest.

"Same-sex marriage proponents insist that the Maine law ensured that no one would be required to compromise their religious beliefs. But if this is a justice issue, as proponents insist, then people will be pressured to abandon their supposed 'bigotry.' Any temporary accommodations of conscience will later be swept aside, as has been observed in the Lutheran Church of Sweden, which now requires churches to conduct such marriages."

Regarding Opinion

pressure

Congratulations are indeed due... with a concentrated effort a right enjoyed by billions was stripped from a minority.

"Same- sex marriage proponents have labeled opposition to gay unions as driven by fear. On the contrary, many people support traditional marriage because of a positive belief in its intrinsic value as a building block of public life."

Which same sex marriage does not change or impact...

""Placed in historical context, same-sex marriage is an aberration embraced by a small fraction of the world's population, not an inevitability as proponents suggest."

That is clearly not true... Homosexual unions have existed in many cultures throughout the centuries.

"Same-sex marriage proponents insist that the Maine law ensured that no one would be required to compromise their religious beliefs. But if this is a justice issue, as proponents insist, then people will be pressured to abandon their supposed 'bigotry.' Any temporary accommodations of conscience will later be swept aside, as has been observed in the Lutheran Church of Sweden, which now requires churches to conduct such marriages."

Nice bit of equivocation that ignores the Constitutional protections granted to religion .

And yes... people will be 'pressured' to abandon their 'supposed bigotry'... just as people were pressured to abandon racial bigotry after the passage of civil rights legislation.

- MrBook November 4, 2009 6:05PM

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- Common sense prevails at last!
  
  On Tuesday, voters in Maine made the state the 31st to uphold traditional marriage by popular vote . Passage of Question 1, the ballot referendum that repealed the state legislature's same-sex marriage law , received wide support from Maine churches.
  
  - CitizenZebra November 5, 2009 8:13AM
  
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  - years to come
    
    Hum, perhaps it is time to review the tax status of those churches… if they are using tax exempt funding for political campaigns.
    
    Still the margin was only 6%, hardly a comfortable margin…. We’ll see how it plays out a few years from now when the issue comes back up.
    
    - MrBook November 5, 2009 4:54PM
    
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    - not me
      
      you are selecting the wrong comment to reply to!
      
      - CitizenZebra November 5, 2009 5:18PM
      
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      - how so?
        
        You said that the referendum received wide support from churches in Maine... and I said that their tax status should be reviewed if they are using funding for political campaigns. I also pointed out that the margin was only 6%, which is not very wide.
        
        - MrBook November 5, 2009 5:50PM
        
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        HEY>>>!
        
        You are not respondind to the right person! You need to pay closer attention as to where you click to reply to someone's comment!
        
        - CitizenZebra November 5, 2009 8:24PM
        
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        history
        
        Then why when I go back through the chain of these posts do I get to your post titled "Common sense prevails at last!"
        
        http://www.opposingviews.com/comments/common-sense-prevails-at-last
        
        - MrBook November 5, 2009 8:58PM
        
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Your movement is doomed.

An overwhelming majority of young people support gay marriage and are very accepting of gay people. As the Baby Boomers die, the right to marry any consenting adult you wish will no longer be denied. Now we just have to work on getting the right to as many consenting adults you wish confirmed.

- richardsonkr November 4, 2009 6:49PM

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- Baby Boomers?
  
  Hold on to your ideals. I am from the 60's generation and we had all the same ideals.As the generation aged many fell away and became their fathers. This has been true of each generation.
  
  - mike1948 November 4, 2009 11:31PM
  
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  - Indeed
    
    It is always up to the youth to incite change . What is it about getting older that makes so many people change from what they knew was right when they were in their 20's? Where is the "hippie" generation that fought so strongly against the Vietnam war ? Have you all gotten apathetic to the problems you'll leave to your children ?
    Is it a lack of character or a gain in wisdom that does this to so many?
    
    - ttut21 November 5, 2009 2:58AM
    
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  - Less about ideals, more about social dynamics.
    
    Even in the 60s, as people fought for the theoretical rights of people, very few white Americans associated freely with blacks. In contrast, many of today's youth care less about their theoretical rights, but are much more comfortable associating with their gay peers. There isn't as much of that sense of ostracization.
    
    - richardsonkr November 5, 2009 9:49AM
    
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Historical Context

from the world's experts on denying history.

Human culture exhibits all form of marriages throughout history and exposes those with stringent rulings on the subject as tyrants in other areas as well.

This whole thing is stupid. What's the difference between marriage , blood brothers, BFF's and people that partner in online video games for extended relationships?

Nothing at all that has anything to do with the nature of human bonds.

If they cannot be held up on the strength of the conviction of the parties so bonded, what is a law going to do for it or against it?

Seriosuly, nothing is stopping anyone from "marrying" anyone else. So why is the church focussing on the officiality of it?

Seems rather unspiritual to me. Not surprising in the least, but still.

- Submariner November 4, 2009 8:24PM

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- Why?
  
  Because they must pay the price of and for the actions and effect on society of the aberrant, criminal, addicted etc.
  
  *If you are not spiritual, of course nothing would seem spiritual to you!
  
  - CitizenZebra November 5, 2009 8:19AM
  
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  - Must they?
    
    Why must they?
    
    What actions?
    
    What price?
    
    What the hell are you talking about?
    
    I think everyone is spiritual in a variety of ways in varying degrees.
    
    My own spirituality is one of practiced depth and disciplined sophistication; I feel quite capable of recognizing the fact that it is not spiritual even by Christianity's shallow and dogmatic standards to persecute a group of people just because they can get away with it, but only on materialistic legal grounds.
    
    I detect a lack of sincerety in general actually, not only on the political platforms, but in the licentiousness that has many 'believers' achieving such depths of judgemental hypocrisy.
    
    - Submariner November 5, 2009 1:05PM
    
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    - You obviously don't see the depth of..
      
      consequences resulting from the actions of any and all special groups... I don't have the time to enlighten you!
      
      good day
      
      - CitizenZebra November 5, 2009 2:58PM
      
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