Bent Corner

Science fiction writer Orson Scott Card has his secret Mormon holy underpants in a bunch over the idea of allowing gay people to marry.  Marriage, that sacred holy union enjoyed by the likes of Britney Spears and Keven Federline and Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley.

Orson Scott Card does not like gay marriage and he chose to argue his views in the pages of the Mormon Times. How brave of him.

Here is some of what Orson Scott Card had to say:

These judges are making new law without any democratic process; in fact, their decisions are striking down laws enacted by majority vote.

No, that’s not what is happening.  Massachusetts and California Judges have ruled against laws that discriminate against gay people.  That is what judges are supposed to do.  They strike down laws that discriminate against people because of their race, sex, religion, or sexual orientation.  It doesn’t matter if a majority of voters agreed to deny rights to gay people.  There is a difference between a Democracy and mob rule.

Remember how rapidly gay marriage has become a requirement. When gay rights were being enforced by the courts back in the ’70s and ’80s, we were repeatedly told by all the proponents of gay rights that they would never attempt to legalize gay marriage.

It took about 15 minutes for that promise to be broken.

Who promised him that? It’s not that people want to legalize gay marriage. Those of us on the pro-gay marriage side just think that the government shouldn’t enact laws that make it illegal.  There is a difference.

My wife and I enjoy the rights and privileges afforded to us because we are married. She is my legal next of kin and I am her’s. If I am ever in a life threatening accident and decisions have to be made concerning my care and treatment, not only will my wife be allowed to remain at my side, she will be allowed to make those decisions. The reason for this is because she and I are married.

This is only one of the many rights and privileges bestowed on married couples. Gay people in committed relationships love the person they are with just as much as I love my wife.  Why should my wife and I get rights and privileges that committed gay couples don’t?  I hate the fact that we deny this basic right to gay couples.

It’s embarrassing.

And for the record, if I am ever in a situation where my wife has to make a decision about my medical care, I want her to keep me alive any way that medical science allows. Not only do I want to be hooked up to machines, I want them to invent new machines just to keep me going. I want to live!

The choice is her’s though.  She is my wife.  She has earned the right to unplug me.

The nondenominational High Point Church of Arlington, Texas canceled the memorial service for Cecil Howard Sinclair, a Navy veteran 24 hours before it was to start because the deceased was gay. How pathetically sad.

According to the man’s sister, Kathleen Wright, the church knew the man was gay when they offered to host the service. Sinclair’s brother works for the church as a custodian. When they learned of the brother’s death, they offered to host the memorial. They changed their mind though after there was a mention of the man’s life partner in his published obituary.

The High Point Church was founded by the Rev. Gary Simons and his wife April. She is the sister of Joel Osteen, pastor of the 38,000-member megachurch Lakewood Church in Houston.

It’s bad enough for this church to judge Cecil Sinclair and decide to treat him and his memory in a bigoted fashion. What’s worse is that they are able to enjoy tax exempt status while discriminating against a veteran. They pay no taxes on the massive amount of revenue they generate. I bet that Cecil Sinclair and his life partner paid their fair share in taxes.

Because churches are tax exempt in our country, High Point Church is being financially subsidized in part by the very people they discriminate against. People like Cecil Sinclair and his partner.

And that is wrong.

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