Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Why I am Voting YES on Referendum 71

I don't tend to get very politically involved. However, there are some things I feel VERY passionately about on the ballot this year and I feel compelled to share my thoughts.

Hopefully, you plan to vote no on Prop 4 (I posted my arguments against it a few weeks ago) and YES on Referendum 71By voting yes on Referendum 71, you are voting to uphold the bill expanding the domestic partnership rights that was already voted on, passed and signed into law by Governor Gregiore.

I feel that if two people love each other enough to spend their lives together, they should be afforded the same rights as married couples. People typically assume this will affect only same-sex couples, but I can think of several heterosexual couples who have chosen not to marry, and removing the expanded domestic partnership rights affects them too!

I absolutely feel that same-sex couples should be allowed to legally marry, but we're a ways off from that in the State of Washington.  I've already blogged extensively my arguments supporting same-sex marriage, so I won't rehash that here.  But I will reiterate the fact that life and love are hard for ALL couples.  Why should we intentionally make it harder for some people?

When the expansion of domestic partnership rights passed, I was extremely proud to live in this state.  I felt we had reached a new level of tolerance and understanding, and made a huge step toward equality.  If Referendum 71 does not pass, it will be a HUGE step backward for the State of Washington.

I have faith that Washington voters will do the right thing and support Referendum 71, We'll still be a step behind Massachusettes (where same-sex marriage has been legal since 2003), Connecticut (legal since 2008), Iowa (legal since April), Vermont (legal since Sept 1), Maine (legal since Sept 14) and New Hampshire (will become legal on January 1), but we'll be continuing to move in the right direction.

Your YES vote on Referendum 71 shows your commitment to tolerance, equality and progression. And it shows your commitment to Washington's families.

4 comments:

  1. progression to accept sin as being ok...is um, not progression it is just flat out wrong! Why should it be intentionally harder for some people? They choose to live a life that does not embrace morality and therefore should have to deal with less than smooth sailing. It is a consequence of their choice to not be entitled to certain rights and they need to deal with that.

    Vote AGAINST Ref-71 to truly protect our kids and families. The decade/century/millenium doesn't matter...what is wrong at the dawn of time is still wrong now...

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  2. Ah, my dear Anonymous. Who gets to decide what's morally right or wrong? You? No thanks. James 4:12 "There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the one who is able to save and destroy. But you - who are you to judge your neighbor?"

    You might want to check your life against all the Biblical rules before making judgements against others. Matthew 7:3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?" Romans 2:1-2 "Therefore, you have no excuse - every one of you who judges. For when you pass judgment on another person, you condemn yourself, since you, the judge, practice the very same things. We know that God's judgment is right when he condemns people for doing these things."

    I am happy to live in a time and place where acceptance, open-mindedness, tolerance, equality and love are valued and strived for. I hope you enjoy living your life as if it were the "dawn of time."

    One last thing... I find it interesting that while you are happy to share your archaic position, you refuse to use your real name, or even a creative screen name. Could it be that you are ashamed of your bigotry?

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  3. http://fm.thevillagechurch.net/resource_files/audio/201005211900FMWC21ATAAA_MattChandler_CultureAndTheology-Homosexuality.mp3

    Maybe this is something you should check out. And, not supporting sinful acts is not bigotry, by the way. It is standing firm in the Lord. You should always be kind to people but kindness does not include enabling or encouraging sinful acts in another person nor supporting something that is essentially the erosion of a moral society in the name of "progression." If you are knowingly participating in sin then that is willfully acting against God which is equally sinful. We do not get to define what is right and wrong apart from the Lord in our "own way" and escape the obligations that the Lord requires of us as a Christians. If someone is not a Christian, then they will have to account for that. If someone is a Christian, then we are held to a higher standard and called repent of our sin and work to eliminate it from our lives each and every day -- to become more Christ like. A huge part of that is not enabling nor encouraging people to participate in sin and that is essentially what this immoral law is doing -- it is going against the Creator of heavens and earth for the sake of progression and attempting to redefine morality. What is moral will never change and someday people in the world will come to understand this but I fear in a very costly manner. For the wages of sin is eternal death and it is through my acceptance of Christ Jesus as my savior and His Grace that I am saved. My responsibility then is to acknowledge that I am miserably sinful and apart form the Lord I am nothing -- it is through Him that I have the strength to change my ways, work to become more like him and repent of those sins that I do commit.

    Additionally, anonymous previously was because I didn't see the name option. Anyways, aside from that you are right -- I am not the moral compass for the world, GOD alone is. And, I am simply stating the Christian (Biblical) point of view. (maybe the above link will say it more clearly but is basically the same idea) This world has nothing for me, my rewards are in eternity with the Lord. I will pray that your heart would come to know the Lord and that you would see His way as the THE way, THE truth, and THE light -- the one and only and that we do not have the right to "create our own brand of Christianity" as that is not Christianity. The only way to the Father (God) is through the Son, Jesus (again, not me speaking but the Bible). And, clearly then it follows from there that if you don't know and love Jesus with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind then can't define "your own relationship" with God apart from him that is legitimate.

    This world is fallen and simply trying to rob us of the full joy that the Lord has to offer -- it is the devil tempting us and if you, as a Christian, fall for those temptations without repentance then you are turning against (denying) Jesus.

    You seem to display a great deal of condescending attitude in your statements -- and, as with most people who preach tolerance, you are very intolerant of any factual opposition and choose to (mis)quote Bible passages as an attempt to prove your own non-Biblical based argument wish is pointless and holds no meaning. Why would you use the very text you clearly oppose in defense of your own argument? You can't have it both ways.

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