The state of marriage
By Brent Daggett
Contributing writer for End the Lie
With many issues facing our nation such as endless wars, our ever decaying civil liberties and the ailing economy, one would think the aforementioned would be the most important concerns to address.
Sadly, that is not the case, as some states are more concerned with the imaginary threat of gays and lesbians to the framework of society. Obviously this logic is quite faulty.
Last month, residents of North Carolina voted 61 to 39 percent in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage between a man and a woman making North Carolina the 30th state to do so.
In the article: Amendment One, North Carolina Gay Marriage Ban, Passes Vote, appearing in the Huffington Post on May 8, writer Martha Waggoner reporters how religion played a contributing factor in the outcome.
“Tami Fitzgerald, who heads the pro-amendment group Vote FOR Marriage NC, said she believes the initiative awoke a silent majority of more active voters in the future.
“I think it sends a message to the rest of the country that marriage is between one man and one woman,” Fitzgerald said at a celebration Tuesday night. “The whole point is simply that you don’t rewrite the nature of God’s design based on the demands of a group of adults.”
On the other hand, many states are standing up for equal rights for gays and lesbians. Currently, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York and the District of Columbia all issue same-sex marriage licenses.
For those who are so deeply rooted in their religious persuasion and wanting to deny individuals their right to towards happiness, I wonder if they support the above forms of marriages since the Bible (the Old Testament) allowed them?
Editor’s note: It’s worth noting that all of those examples are from the Old Testament and many modern Christians argue that the New Covenant made such outdated laws as above (which most modern people would likely consider “barbaric” or “backwards”) and others, such as the command to not plant two kinds of seed in one field, are no longer applicable.
See the below video from Princeton Theological Seminary-trained theologian, author and Pastor Greg Boyd, PhD for more information on this perspective.
I just think that it is worth pointing out that not all Christians think that Old Testament law actually applies today. Those who do apply it selectively, as they likely do not believe that it is wrong to wear clothing of mixed thread (among other ancient laws which have little to no place in modern life), which is indeed in the Old Testament. Personally, I believe that Christians who confuse this topic just haven’t studied their holy text nearly enough.
To me, marriage licenses are away to regulate taxes and religion and signing a piece of paper just to prove ones love for each other is ridiculous.
Regardless of one’s sexual orientation or any other forms of domestic unions, individual rights should be protected above all else.
After all, the Constitution is supposed to protect the rights of everyone, not just those who have a certain sexual orientation.
I think privatizing marriage would allow a more sacred bond between couples. After all, shouldn’t those who love one another and want to establish their own spiritual journey be dealing with such matters between themselves and not mixing it with the business of the state?
Lastly, if any heterosexual married couple believes a marriage between Adam and Steve or Evey and Piper will cause problems for their marriage, then they need some serious therapy.
Edited by Madison Ruppert (Note: the above comments are my opinion and in no way reflect the opinion of Brent Daggett)
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Madison Ruppert is a Los Angeles-based independent journalist and researcher as well as the founder, owner, administrator and editor of EndtheLie.com. He has no affiliations with any government agencies, political parties, non-governmental organizations, or economic schools. He is available for freelance writing assignments and appearances or interviews in any format. He can be reached by emailing
excuse me,but new and old testament forbids homosexuality,it is a weakness or a sickness of the mind. this earth is going through some bad times,they will be false preachers or men of god,any person that gives into the temptation of the flesh or says it is ok and lets marry them is a false prophiet. if you ask why this bothers you if your not gay,its because marriage between man and women is making them one in the sight of god(a gift)so when you bring the gay thing into something that was a gift for man and women youve blastpheimed god and the bible. may god forgive you if youre involved and if your a preacher may god reighn his punishment on you for you are leading us into the hands of satan himself
All this shit about gay marriage and you don’t hear one peep from these followers about convicted and alleged SEXUAL offenders they call Priests and Pastors. Give me a break.. at least gay marriages don’t hurt anyone AT ALL, but the Priests and Pastors just get relocated when any scandal is uncovered. I think they’re banning the wrong things here. Maybe we should just ban Pastors and Priests so no more children are harmed?
My fabricated argument is highly sarcastic but you see my point? I believe it should be a person’s FREE CHOICE to marry whoever they want. How about the Govt. stays the fuck out of our personal lives!?!?
Politics is not supposed to be emotional, and emotion is all you have when dealing with the subservient mind-control we call religion.
What happens to gays and lesbians who choose to be common law or sexual partners? Is that legally forbidden as well? Can one face incarceration or financial penalty if found “gay”?
I am amazed at the coordinated assault on basic accepted concept of a family and marriage based on a man and women.
Gay behavior has been condemned by God in the the Torah, Bible and Quran. It is clearly against the beliefs of all monothiestic religions.
If people want to live an immoral life and do whatever they feel like, it is their choice and in the end we will all be put to account for the life we lived.
The Fabian Society (which has big influences on the UK Labour Part and the Australian Labor Party) has been pushing this agenda for years, and we’re now seeing such bills being debated in the Australian parliament now.
I am dead against the whole ideal of gay people entering into marriage. I would prefer they take marriage out of law altogether than permit gay people to marry. This would remove any perceived bias relating to inequality, and marriage could then be purely ceremonial. The author of this article should also note that the theologian is also using selective passages of the bible too.
While I do appreciate your website, it seems that you take God out of the equation. With all that is happening, could it be that God is judging the nations?
Interesting point: You do not show even one positive example of a heterosexual marriage. The first you give portrays the most common, “Nuclear Family” marriage, to be one of slavery for women. Biblical marriage teaches men to love and care for their wives as cherished friends. Modern marriages seldom resemble the oppression you suggest. The vagaries and economics of the time required distinct roles to rear children and maintain a household. In the case of a widow, marrying her brother-in-law was a recommended option as a old widow would need a son to care for her. But it was not entirely mandatory, especially for women past child-bearing age. Homosexuality is completely forbidden by God as an “abomination” worthy of the death penalty. It is detrimental to the basis of society, the family unit producing children. Christ did not recommend slavery, concubines, or polygamy either.
I think that chart should be thrown in the face of each and every person talking about “The Biblical definition of Marriage” As if the behavior of Bronze Age nomads is 1) any kind of model for moral people and 2) relevant to the lives of people in highly educated and advanced industrial societies.
I think the mention of the New Covenant is good and exceptionally astute, especially in the face of Christofascist idiots intent on shoving us back into the Bronze Age.
But seriously, the influence of so-called Biblical Law in the Constitutional Laws of the United States should be null and void.