The Lincoln Coalition

I usually try to stay out of these issues but I read Iowa’s Supreme Court decision that basically affirms gays and lesbian’s right to marry in that state. Who would have thought Iowa would be the fourth state to recognize that defense of marriage in any form is discriminatory and allows the majority to impose it’s prescription of life on a minority.

While the summary of the decision (it’s a quick) is really good reading — it shows how obtuse all of the arguments have been. Some of the little gems in the defendant claims include: promotion of procreation (so if gays aren’t allowed to marry, straight people will have more sex and children), and saving state resources (resources that those the state is trying to exclude pay in the form of taxes) and promotion of optimal environment for children (where the court asks why sexual predators, child abusers, felons and parent that don’t provide child support aren’t included). While all of this falls under the “sky is blue; the sun is hot” category for me, of particular interest is the Court’s opinion on religious opposition to Same-Sex Marriage.  In that portion of the opinion the judges state:

“Our constitution does not permit any branch of government to resolve these types of religious debates and entrusts to courts the task of ensuring government avoids them . . .  The statute at issue in this case does not prescribe a definition of marriage for religious institutions.  Instead, the statute, declares, ‘Marriage is a civil contract’ and then regulates that civil contract . . . .  Thus, in pursuing our task in this case, we proceed as civil judges, far removed from the theological debate of religious clerics, and focus only on the concept of civil marriage and the state licensing system that identifies a limited class of persons entitled to secular rights and benefits associated with marriage.”

I’ve said many times here, marriage is a contract between two people and it has nothing to do with one’s spirituality and is not bound by religion. This sums it all up, truth be told, that’s the stone in the shoe for those who oppose giving a class of people a right that they enjoy by simply being citizens of the United States: Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

The sooner people learn and understand that being gay or lesbian is not about deviant sex, teaching it to children or preying on children the better off we’ll all be. When left alone it can be as boring, thrilling and dysfunctional as a relationship between a man and woman.