Flaws in the gay rights movement

I'm really not a politically inclined person, so I'm not sure where this is coming from. Actually, it's coming from my roommate who has been watching all the outrage coming from the passing of Prop 8.

I love the ability to protest. Even if it's against the church. I love that our Bill of Rights allows us freedom of speech. I don't dislike the people who protest the passing of prop 8 outside of LDS churches, just as I don't dislike people who protest the church. I do, however, see oh-so-many problems with the arguments they present.

I'm a bigot? I think the gay rights movement is interesting, in that it persecutes me for my beliefs. In all the ruckus over respecting one's beliefs (in allowing gay marriage), mine are being ridiculed! I'm not sure how that makes sense, but oh well.

A loving God? Let's not confuse a loving God with an apathetic God. Referring to God's opinion on the matter, I heard a protestor say "I don't think a loving God would care." That seems to me like saying a that a loving parent wouldn't be concerned over their child's decision to be gay. In fact, that's a weak comparison tailored to those who don't consider homosexuality a sin. To me, its more like saying a loving parent wouldn't care if their child was blindly crossing an eight-lane highway.

A condition or a choice? I don't get how the argument for homosexuality is allowed to change depending on convenience. I taught someone on my mission who was gay, and in a conversation we had with him (it was civil; there was no arguing, just serious discussing) he brought up the fact that people should respect the choice he has made. Later, in a discussion about whether homosexuality is even scientifically founded, (why would an organism ignore the instinct to reproduce it has had for millennea?) he mentioned that it was something he was born with and couldn't help. I don't get it. Arguments that change based on convenience are not on solid ground.

An inalienable right? When did marriage become an inalienable right? I thought marriage was a religious institution specifically designed to be the unification of a man and a woman. To me, saying marriage is an inalienable right is like saying that performing ordinances in the temple is an inalienable right. No! They should only be done under the right conditions. How come we feel like we need to change God's ways to fit our society? To me, saying marriage is an inalienable right (rather than a God-given right) actually diminishes its importance. In my eyes, at least.

Also, I just found out that straight people legally can't enter into a domestic partnership. Shouldn't I be upset about this "inalienable right" being taken from me?

The Mormons did it? Why is it that when a member of the LDS church does something, their religious affiliation is so public? How come you never hear "So-and-so, a member of the local Catholic church, opened the new store on Center street" or "local Lutheran man commits such-and-such a crime."

It's always the Mormons fault. Amidst of a group of over 7 million people who voted Yes on 8, single out the Mormons because their church doesn't believe in gay marriage. What Christian churches DO believe in gay marriage? I think Sodom and Gomorrah has been completely forgotten.

The Courage Campaign (anti-prop 8) has a video showing two members of the campaign trying to get a petition of 17,000 names to "the Prophet-President Monson." (They are filming in California, so I'm not sure how they planned on getting the petition to him. They were just being dramatic.) Just an interesting fact.

A majority vote? This kinda goes with the last one. You can question the constitutionality of passing Proposition 8, but you can't question the fact that a majority of the voters in California don't want to legalize gay marriage. I'm not sure what appealing to the courts will do, but I guess you never know.

Another double standard. It's alright for a gay person to not believe in God, but its not alright for a God-fearing (loving? I always thought it was funny those two meant about the same thing) person to not believe in gay people. A loving God DOES care about the life-altering decisions His children make, and when they go in a path that directly opposes the path he has laid out in the Plan of Salvation he is saddened. He is NOT any less loving because of it, and he is most certainly not apathetic.

It's alright for gay people to express their beliefs, but not alright for church-goers to express their beliefs. Suddenly it becomes a separation-of-church-and-state issue.

It's alright for gays to raise money against Prop 8, but not okay for anyone else to raise money for Prop 8.

It's alright to be gay, but not alright to be against it. Then you're homophobic.

There's too many to list in totality, I'm sure. I guess blogs really do work in forming my thoughts as of late into something coherent. Maybe then when I forget stuff (which takes me no more than 8 hours to completely reset my memory; that's how poor my short-term memory is!) I can look back and see again just why I resent being called a bigot for my beliefs. If my beliefs included physically harming others (like the KKK or the Nazis) I would understand being called a bigot. Fortunately they don't.