It seems inevitable. The citizens of Virginia are about to put hatred into our constitution. They will announce that we Virginians don’t take kindly to gay marriage (“Wedding Presents,” News & Features, Oct. 18).
No matter that our heterosexuals friends often betray the institution, we must deny it to folks who, as God would have it, are happier when paired with persons of their own gender than with those of the opposite camp. These 5 to 10 percent of the population, these one in every 20 persons out there (your family and friends), just need to know, once and for all, that they are the bad children of God.
How would Jesus vote? Did I alone misinterpret his teaching and his life? Have Virginia’s Christian ministers forgotten their pledge to uphold the spirit and the principles of Jesus? The Christian silence on this hateful amendment bespeaks a world of hypocrisy to my mind. Isn’t it clear that Jesus would vote no?
Anti-gay marriage amendments and legislation are the last battle flags raised by those who moan and wail against history’s inevitable movement toward a fair and equitable treatment of the world’s minorities. The industrial revolution set the wave in motion and globalization is pushing it higher and higher. As each American sees that other people in this world perform and compete as well as we do, each is being taught that all humans (except for fanatic fundamentalists) are inherently worthy. And as we Americans come to grips with not being as special as we assumed, I’m hoping we become more humble and more Jesus-like in our treatment of others.
Vote no on this hateful amendment. Jesus would.
John G. Schuiteman
Ashland
