I’m
sitting outside in our backyard garden by the fountain, watching a family
of cardinals dart from a tree to the bird feeder hanging on a hook inside
the privacy fence.
The ’60s jazz version of “Summertime” by Billy Stewart
is playing low on the portable CD player, while my partner is snoozing
on the outdoor sofa with the little dog at his side. It’s a nice
moment.
The birds don’t seem to be afraid of us, but after what they’ve
been through recently it’s hardly surprising they’ve toughened
up their exterior.
A couple of months ago the female cardinal was attacked and killed by a
neighborhood feral cat. I didn’t witness the event, though one of
our neighbors did. In the weeks that followed, another male cardinal showed
up and has been hanging out occasionally with the widowed father of two.
Together they’ve kept a watchful eye over the babies — as they
feed and sometimes take dips in the fountain.
Everybody looks happy — though I can’t help but wonder if they
have any recollection of the tragedy that befell mom.
Whatever the case, they seem to have adapted to the modified family structure. “Tweety
Has Two Daddies” keeps running through my mind as I’m watching
them dart back and forth.
How many times have you heard anti-gay hacks rattle off the phrase “homosexuality
isn’t natural?” Can you recall the number of times you’ve
heard a homophobic evangelical screaming that tired old line, “homosexuality
doesn’t occur in nature!”
We know they’re wrong: There are all kinds of gay animals, ranging
from gorillas and penguins to cats, dogs and guinea pigs. Sexual interaction
between members of the same-sex exists across the spectrum of humanity
and the animal kingdom.
What difference does our sexual orientation make? None.
Just like the newly formed cardinal family, we’re completely capable
of maintaining relationships and raising a family.
Nevertheless, day in and day out, we continue to have to battle for our
rights as couples and as families.
Political treachery.
On May 9, the first day of the N.C. Senate’s 2006 session, Sen. James
Forrester (pictured) introduced SB 1228, which would amend the state constitution
to discriminate against same-sex couples.
As if that wasn’t enough, the homo-hatin’ god-fearin’ Republicans
in the N.C. House had to get in on the act, too, by introducing their own
version on May 23. HB 2438 — Defense of Marriage — was introduced
by Rep. Tim Moore. Like its companion bill in the Senate, the measure would
amend the North Carolina Constitution to define marriage solely as between
one man and one woman and would prohibit recognition of similar types of
relationships, including those between members of the same sex or between
more than two persons of any sex. If passed by both chambers of the General
Assembly, the amendment would need to be approved by voters.
A spokesperson for Hanover County Sen. Julia Boseman told me that she felt
it was pretty unlikely that either of the bills would be approved by the
Senate.
“There’s not a lot of support for it,” she explained. “Last
year it never even got out of committee.”
I hope that’s the case — but I’ve had it with career
politicians using us over and over as trump cards to rile the fundies — who
in turn justify their beliefs through religious bigotry.
How many other religious beliefs in Christianity have been tossed aside
as outdated when society began to change? Divorce, pork, blended fabric,
slaves obeying their masters — check out this list of doozies:
• DEUTERONOMY 22:13-21
If it is discovered that a bride is not a virgin, the Bible demands that
she be executed by stoning immediately.
• DEUTERONOMY 22:22
If a married person has sex with someone else’s husband or wife,
the Bible commands that both adulterers be stoned to death.
• LEVITICUS 18:19
The Bible forbids a married couple from having sexual intercourse during
a woman’s period. If they disobey, both shall be executed.
• MARK 12:18-27
If a man dies childless, his widow is ordered by biblical law to have intercourse
with each of his brothers in turn until she bears her deceased husband
a male heir.
• DEUTERONOMY 25:11-12
If a man gets into a fight with another man and his wife seeks to rescue
her husband by grabbing the enemy’s genitals, her hand shall be cut
off and no pity shall be shown her.
Get my point? Find a modern day Christian who would stone his daughter
or cut his wife’s hand off gleefully, please. The bible commands
it, though. Why are they disobeying?
Republican career politicians are cashing in on the unfounded fears of
uneducated evangelical voters. Just as sure as the LGBT community is being
victimized, the evangelicals are being used.
I wish our community had more nice moments — like the one I mentioned
earlier — and fewer hate-filled diatribes from public figures using
us to rally the vote.
David Moore Editor
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