Tax and Love

The ongoing debate about gay marriage has passionate voices on both sides.

An open debate is a good thing. The problem with this debate however is that the leadership in government is listening to one side more than the other and the side that is getting their opinion heard should not even be a part of the discussion in the first place.

I am speaking about the church, and by that I mean all religious institutions not just the Catholic Church although they are the most vocal.

In America we were founded on many principles including the separation of church and state. We live by this separation to the drastic extent that churches pay no taxes. And since they produce no product that can be taxed they are for all intents and purposes outsiders.

On this day, April 15^th when there are protests about taxes going on around the country it should be evident that the taxpayer wants a stronger say in the use of his or her money. Taxpayers want to make sure that their voices are heard. (We are actually paying less taxes than we did under Bush and far less than they do in many European countries.) However if you don’t pay taxes in America then you should not be heard nor should you have a say in our government!

Naturally the Gay and Lesbian community are in favor of same sex marriage. The union of two people for the sake of peace and harmony should not harm anyone nor cause anyone to fear for their lives. It should be viewed as a statement of commitment between two taxpaying and law abiding citizens of this country. The church may not like this but until they pay their fair share of taxes they should do their grumbling in the sanctity of their tax free environment and leave the decisions to those of us living in the real world.

As for the argument often stated that gay marriage defiles the sanctity of marriage and threatens civilization I would point to the great civilizations of the past that flourished for centuries and upon which our modern world is based. These societies did not condemn love but in fact encouraged it as a motivator. They urged their citizens to do the right thing and protect their loved ones making no distinction between the sexes. They did not question the cause of the love or the legality of it but rather rejoiced in its wonder. And if you need to argue that same sex marriage threatens the sanctity of yours then I submit your marriage was not a strong union to begin with.

And if you are against love then isn’t it true that you espouse hate? Is that what the church wants? Because whether or not they want it hate is what they are creating. The so-called religious right attacks same sex marriage as unholy. I say that the intrusion of your beliefs into other people’s affairs is even more so. If you are religious and believe what the people of the Gay and Lesbian community are doing is wrong then let God decide their fate. Remember your religious teachings - "Vengeance is mine sayeth the Lord." Do not take his work into your own hands for that would be BLASPHEMY.