The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members
have been the target of many accusations since Proposition 8 was
first put on the ballet. I would ask that you read with an open
mind as I describe the predicament we are currently all involved
in.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and its members have been the target of many accusations since Proposition 8 was first put on the ballet. I would ask that you read with an open mind as I describe the predicament we are currently all involved in.
The members of the LDS faith, or as they are often known, Mormons, are very active in their endeavors to protect marriage. By saying this, I do not mean we discriminate against same-sex couples. We respect all people for their beliefs, opinions and traditions; it doesn’t necessarily mean we agree with them.
Say we have an apple and an orange. The apple will represent marriage between a man and a woman and the orange will represent the union of a same-sex couple. We all agree they are both a type of fruit, correct? But we also recognize that we cannot make an apple an orange, or visa versa. An apple will always be an apple and an orange will always be an orange. That cannot be changed. Such it is with the differences between the union of a same-sex couple and a traditional marriage. They are similar by general definition, but unions and marriages are not and cannot be the same.
People argue that same-sex couples do not have the same rights as married couples. However, in the California Family Code Section 297.5, it states, “Domestic partners shall have the same rights, protections, and benefits as married couples …”
The issue is not about tolerance. It is about morals. We respect each other’s morals and values, but, at the same time, we recognize the severe consequences of adopting the allowance of same-sex marriages. Before the proposition passed, altering the Constitution to read, “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California,” utter chaos broke loose. People sued because of personal beliefs. John and Elaine Huguenin, both photographers who refused to photograph the ceremony of a same-sex couple were sued for being intolerant of that couple and their rights. Churches who did not accept the belief of marriage between same-sex couples found themselves being forced to or take the risk of being sued. Marriage licenses, allowing those of a faith to legally marry as they believe is right, are now at stake. What happened to the United States Constitution, which reads, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof?” Can one state decide that it is exempt from this unalienable right? No. No it cannot.
Parents have much to worry about as they are losing their rights to protect their children. It has gone so far that students are being forced to sit in on a discussion that their parents weren’t even informed about. A man and his wife should automatically have the option to remove their child from a controversial discussion. If a married couple does not want to have their 2nd grade child exposed to the concept of same-sex marriage, as it was in Massachusetts, they have the inevitable right to remove their child during the discussion and wait until they believe that child is ready to be exposed to that subject. Above all, a teacher and the school faculty should absolutely have no right to force a child to remain in class during one of these discussions as occurred at Martin Murphy Middle School. Yes, it is vital that all people be exposed to this for the sake of learning to respect others and accept them for who they are and what they believe. But the decision should be up to the parents and no one else.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints seeks only to defend what we, and many others, believe is right. We believe that the concepts discussed above are valid points and must be recognized when making a final decision regarding this subject. We do not discriminate against those who hold different values than we do, including same-sex couples.
