Same Sex Nuptials & Leviticus 20:13

                      There are many of aspects of life that individual people are embarrassed about in themselves. Some look to either side of them if they nibble on their fingernails in public. A driver might look with regret upon tailgating someone in the car ahead of them while on the highway. And what about those who get a sudden urge for ice cream,wind up eating an entire carton single handedly and end up with a headache not from the ice cream,but the guilt they feel over fat content,cholesterol or whatever.  At the same time,I've observed a source of embarrassment that creates more unnecessary social problems and even ill will towards fellow human beings than all of those things that I mentioned combined: religious doctrine.

                      All over the world there are many types of this doctrine. There's the Muslim faith in the Middle East, Judaism  in many areas of the world and other  more personal spiritual practices such as Buddism and B'hai. Of course the most commonly known is the Christian Bible. Of course it has an old and a new testament to it. In the old testament there is a chapter of it called Leviticus,20:13 to be specific. Never read the entire bible myself. So I took it upon myself to investigate Leviticus 20:13. Of course there are many variations of the phrase but the gist of it is this: If a man also lie with mankind as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death: their blood shall be upon them. This has resulted in the source for one of the biggest human rights violations in history: active homophobia.

                      Only a year ago or so the US president Barrack Obama made clear to the entire nation his support for two people of the same sexual orientation to get married. Now I'm a member of either the X generation or Millennial generation. Either way that is considered to be a group of people in history who are,to coin a phrase,just-don't-carish. Speaking for myself,I happen to care a great deal about other people. In fact I often drive them crazy because my convictions are so passionate. Being myself decidedly non religious, never mind non Christian, I've long considered  the exact application of Leviticus 20:13 by a number of Christian organizations to be a hate crime-in the same league as the Nazi era racial cleansing to the southern US's own Jim Crow laws of  over half a century ago. So the news of the Presidents support for this basic human right showed that someone more important in position than I cared as well.

                   State by state the entire nation is starting to legalize same sex marriage. It has made the cover of almost every national magazine and into prominence in local state media as well.  Just last year, the state of Maine where I live was one of the states that legalized marriage. It was particularly triumphant for me because I volunteered heavily and made a number of vital emotional sacrifices for EqualityMaine,the local organization that helped that happen. In fact,it was addressed in one of the very first blogs I wrote here in fact. I was also similarly involved in the 2009 campaign with the same organization for the same issue and,in that case the bill was vetoed on the local level and lost. On the second occasion,LGBTQ individuals chose to reach out to more people as completely nonthreatening and contributing members of society, who satisfied the personal understanding of most heterosexual families (even many Christians) thankfully and made this basic right come true for Mainers.

                  This is going to be a wonderful and exciting summer for a lot of local same sex couples in the states that have legalized same sex marriage. This will be a wonderful time for them to have the rich full life any happy couple deserve. Many of them have been in a metaphorical waiting line for years sometimes in great hope that this day would come. Watching men and women of all races,knowing in some parts of the country marriage between a man and women of different races was one illegal as well,get married while they were excluded from this right over what essentially amounts to a hostile and threatening bible entry that takes less than 30 seconds to verbally utter. Of those who teach others to live by Leviticus 20:13 I can only say this: villains who twirl their mustaches are easy to spot. But a villain who clothes themselves in good deeds are well camouflaged. 

                  As for the cryptic photo you see above you,its visually symbolic of those I am dedicating this blog to. And those are the many homosexual people whom I know,and many more I don't,around me who grew up in an era when the type of attitudes that killed Charlie Howard and Matthew Shepard were commonplace. A time when Leviticus 20:13 was part of the "undeniable" word of "the good book" that 99% of the population lived by. This blog is for those who lived without freedom,without a voice and without a choice for years due to this simple right denied.  And most importantly this is for my dear friend Phil,one of many who took their own lives due mainly to shame in who they were and what society denied of them all of their lives. They aren't here to see this day happen. Neither are people like Charlie Howard,whose life was taken from him by hate. This is dedicated to all those who made it to the top of this mountain top, and who can celebrate in triumph for the sake of their humanity.