Atlanta And BeyondAmanda
Summerlin
Photography
Atlanta & beyondest. 2009

Real Americans Support Gay Marriage

Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner.” James Bovard

A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.” Thomas Jefferson

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.” The First Amendment to the Frikkin’ Constitution (a.k.a. The Bill of Rights)

Lately the news is full of people arguing about who should and should not be allowed to get married. Actually, let me rephrase that correctly… the news is full of self righteous arrogant citizens attempting to deny other tax paying and law-abiding citizens their right to enjoy the freedoms and privileges that any American citizen should be assured to have. And it all just makes me scratch my head.

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After all, didn’t we all learn in 3rd grade that the pilgrims came over on the Mayflower to avoid religious persecution, among other reasons? Weren’t they people who didn’t want to be told by their government how to worship? Isn’t that one of the primary protections our Constitution provides? Freedom from religious persecution?

So how come a group of people in our country have taken it upon themselves to insert their religion into our government? Are they (or you) really sure that our government should be legislating how and when we worship, and what to say when we do? And if our government is going to endorse one of the religions observed by its citizens, shouldn’t it endorse them all to be fair? ‘Cause I thought the government was for all of us, not just the big-mouths. Wouldn’t it be cool to walk into a courthouse and see an inverted pentagram next to the ten commandments? After all, fair is fair.

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Personally, I’ve always resented the phrase “under God” being in the Pledge of Allegiance. If I pay my taxes and obey the law, and am generally a respectful and good citizen, why is it that I am valued less by some citizens simply because I don’t believe in God the same way that they do? Isn’t the pledge supposed to be about being a good citizen of America, and not a good member of the church? (Well, actually it’s an attempt by Socialists to infiltrate the schools and brainwash the children, but that’s another story… go ahead, look it up. I’ll wait.)

But weren’t you taught that the thing that makes our country great is that it’s a “Melting Pot” of the world? I was. I was taught that the American spirit was one of fierce independence and that we should value and be willing to fight for our rights. Together. So how come we expect the best people in the world to want to come here and then submit to being brainwashed into doing what a group of bullies say? Isn’t that exactly the opposite of the American way?

Which brings me to marriage. Some people say, for religious reasons, they don’t think that gay and lesbian Americans should be allowed to marry each other. Can you help me understand why anyone’s religious convictions should dictate to any other person of any religion what they should or should not be allowed to do? I thought that we were supposed to use our religious convictions to direct our own behavior.

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And don’t give me the crap about not murdering people being a religious belief. That’s a lame example, because the right to be free of harm is a moralistic value that transcends religion. But telling two people who are tax paying adult citizens, who believe that it’s ok to be who they know they are, that they can’t get married because you don’t believe they should is the same as making a law that everyone in the country can’t eat anything but fish on Friday because your god says so. So what if it’s your religious belief? I wanna have a cheeseburger and I don’t believe in what you believe. Not only that, but there’s no way that me having a cheeseburger will cause any harm to you or your religion.

And in the same way that’s true, there’s no way that Adam and Steve getting married is gonna cause any more harm to your marriage than you’ve already caused yourself by refusing to put the toilet seat down for 13 years. If marriages are failing in our nation, it’s because we’re a bunch of selfish jerks who have lost the ability (or maybe never had the ability) to be compassionate and empathetic toward one another. Your marriage won’t fail because two strangers got married, unless the two strangers were you and your spouse.

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On the other hand, there is actual scientific PROOF that denying the right of marriage causes harm to American citizens. Yep, you heard me. Real proof that the bigots are the ones causing harm. Shocking.

The following excerpt is from WhiteKnot.org, and will be permanently included on my website:

15 Reasons Why Marriage Matters

From WhiteKnot.org

1. Marriage offers 1,138 Federal benefits and responsibilities (PDF), not including hundreds more offered by every state.

2. In times of crisis, spouses have hospital visitation rights and can make medical decisions in event of illness or disability of their spouse.

3. Employers offer spouses sick leave, bereavement leave, access to health insurance and pension.

4. The law provides certain automatic rights to a person’s spouse regardless of whether or not a will exists.

5. Married couples in elderly care facilities are generally not separated unless one spouse’s health dictates hospitalization or special care.

6. Married couples are permitted to give an unlimited amount of gifts to each other without being taxed.

7. The law presumes that a married couple with both names on the title to their home owns the property as “tenants by the entirety.”

8. A married couple, by statute, has creditor protection of their marital home.

9. Many married people are entitled to financial benefits relating to their spouses, such as disability, pension and social security benefits.

10. With marriage, a couple has the right to be treated as an economic unit and to file joint tax returns (and pay the marriage penalty), and obtain joint health, home and auto insurance policies.

11. When a spouse dies, there is no need to prove ownership of every item in the household for taxable purposes.

12. A child who grows up with married parents benefits from the fact that his or her parents’ relationship is recognized by law and receives legal protections.

13. Spouses are generally entitled to joint child custody and visitation upon divorce (and bear an obligation to pay child support).

14. The mark of a strong family and healthy children is having parents who are nurturing, caring, and loving. Parents should be judged on their ability to parent, not by their age, race, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity.

15. For adults, a stable, happy marriage is the best protector against illness and premature death. Decades of research have clearly established these links. (Burman & Margolin, 1992; Dawson, 1991; Verbrugge, 1979).

So, if you think I have a good point (and you know I do), what can you do to help out a fellow citizen? The best thing you can do is simply to vote for someone who is less evil. Good luck with that. You can also click on the Whiteknot.org link and learn more through their website.

Oh, and you can tell Congress and the Tea Party to go suck it. We’re Americans and we don’t need anybody to tell us when to say a prayer or to whom to give thanks. We can handle this, because we’re grown ups too. Keep your laws out of my private life, and learn to manage your own better.

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Amanda Summerlin
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