against "the gays?"
Yep. That's what my mother-in-law asked me at my 3-year old niece's birthday party last Saturday. It's quite odd to me that she asked me of all people. She knows I'm liberal, by southern Illinois standards, and that I make my opinions known when asked (and sometimes when not asked... ahem).
But, to humor her... I read the petition, and it made me sad to think that she would actively support something so terrible. From what I read, the petition sought to make sure homosexuals in Illinois never have the chance of marriage and equal rights as heterosexual couples.
Now, I don't care on which side of the fence you stand. It doesn't matter where I stand. But when I'm asked to take an active part in denying other human beings their rights.... yikes. That's bigger than me. That's not my responsibility. Who am I to say that someone else shouldn't have the same rights as I enjoy. I guess my mother-in-law feels it is her duty, as a "good" Christian, to follow what she interprets the Bible is saying. And by doing so, she will be affecting people she doesn't even know. People who are, in her words, "the gays." That, to me, doesn't sound very Christianly. And it's people like her that make me cringe and hesitant to call myself Christian. Is that how you want people to look at your faith?
No thanks. I will not sign your petition.
3 comments:
There was a petition floating around in this area a while back after an anti-discrimination ordinance was passed that sought to protect LGBT city residents from discrimination in housing. They got enough signatures to actually repeal the ordinance and the board didn't even put it to a city-wide vote. Can you believe that? People signing that petition actually thought it was justifiable to deny someone equal opportunity to find housing based on their sexual orientation. It blows my mind...
"Christians" who do not love others, who do not promote peace, and who do not refrain from judging others before taking a look at themselves might want to actually read the Bible and gather from it the principles Jesus taught. The counts of Christians attending church are decreasing, and who can blame people from shying away from an institution linked (rightly or wrongly) with the vicious socially right wing people such as your MIL? I hope you can find a way over time to gently open her eyes to her hatred and encourage her to be a *true* follower of Jesus rather than a "Christian." I genuinely wish you luck, Jenna- LP
WOW and wow. Verbally lumping anyone into a category such as "the ____" is deragatory enough, but asking you to sign something denying them rights... unbelievable.
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