GAYS DEFEND MARRIAGE

Yesterday, Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), his party’s presumptive nominee for president of the United States, gave an outstanding speech here in St. Louis (I couldn’t go because of Shabbat) in which he embraced the role religion has played in his life and politics. I’m not planning on voting for him, but if he’s elected, I believe Obama will have the most nuanced, carefully considered view on faith and politics of any American president in history.

For example, in a speech interrupted by shouts of “Amen,” he said yesterday:

The values we believe in – empathy and justice and responsibility to ourselves and our neighbors – these cannot only be expressed in our churches and our synagogues, but in our policies and in our laws.

I am moved to hear the leading candidate for the nation’s highest office speak about his belief that we should try to express our church- and synagogue-based values in our nation’s laws in part because of the difficulty I’ve had with “marriage equality” supporters who have been nearly hysterical in their insistence that doing with Obama and I have been doing is unconstitutional, theocratic, and downright rude.

Some examples:

Popsiclestand at boxturtlebulletin.com wrote: “The one mistake I might have made was not realizing that your particular interpretation of Judaism calls for a theocratic government. Sorry about that, but I’m afraid you’re in the wrong country for that crap.”

SammySeattle at Joe.My.God wrote “Mr. Benkof once again cannot get past religion and see this as a civil matter. Separate is never equal. The government will not ‘redefine’ marriage in the Jewish religion, it will only enhance marriage in the civil forum. ”

Bruce Garrett, of boxturtlebulletin.com wrote “It’s about forcing people into one way of life versus letting them live their own lives. If you think same sex marriage is immoral, then don’t have one. If you think sex outside of wedlock is sinful then don’t do that. By all means, live your life according to your ‘traditional’ religious values. But you need to extend the same respect to your neighbors.”

RobertinCali at Joe.My.God wrote “Religious zealots who use the shield of ‘I’m one, so listen to me’ should be shouted down by the chorus of supporters. Benkof and his ilk are using old arguments to try and deny rights to us. They think that our right to marry is going to harm their marriages in innumerable ways…. Benkof needs to call his argument what it is, his religious belief, not the opinion of the ‘Community.’”

PiaSharn, of boxturtlebulletin.com wrote “I’m not a member of your religion. So I don’t understand why I should be forced to live my life according to your beliefs. Not all religions think that same-sex marriage is wrong. But you seem to be saying that everyone should be legally forced to conform to your religious beliefs.”

Now, please understand: I have never tried to impose my beliefs upon the nation as a dictator or a theocracy. All I have done is try to use my one vote and my freedom of speech and freedom of the press to promote policies that are motivated in part but not in whole by my deeply held religious beliefs.

If that approach is dangerous, it is a million times more dangerous when Obama does it than when I do. After all, he appears to be a few months away from the most powerful and most symbolic office in the land.

But where are the protests of popsiclestand and SammySeattle against Obama? It appears that promoting policies based on faith is OK when a Democrat does it, and offensive and unconstitutional when a Republican does it. In other words, they’re making absolutely no point at all.

I’m going to keep doing what I’ve been doing. My hunch is Obama will as well.