Milk: Part Two (after thoughts)

I posted a fairly long argument after my MILK review regarding gays, gay rights and gay marriage. I have something in follow-up to say regarding the issue:

At the end of the post I proposed a solution to the issue:

The solution: give both sides complete civil rights and take nothing away. Give the homosexual community all the civil rights of a marriage. A loved one or a partner should be able to visit someone in the hospital when they are ill, without this civil right they arn’t considered family and therefore are denied aspects that a married couple would. Simply give them all the civil rights that a married couple would and then don’t deny rights to the other side. When blacks or women got civil liberties, nothing was taken away from other races of gender.

The LDS church has recently undertaken action to support the solution-in-principle, the following link is something I found comforting, if you haven't seen it already. It actually was a big moment, gave me a lot of comfort to see for a lot of reasons, people can't possibly say that the church is against gays, after seeing this article, we can officially say that the church doesn't oppose gay rights, in fact the LDS church has gone out of its way to support them:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/11/salt-lake-city-oks-gay-ri_n_353399.html

When someone says why is YOUR church against gay marriage, it is obtuse to conform that approach due to the fact that the LDS church is a small, tiny fraction of the population, a population that is predominantly christian, Muslim or any other faith which opposes its sanctions. Moreover, to say YOUR church is not the issue at hand, in fact there is more credibility to flip it the other way and argue why do YOU not believe in it, the population is more than in your favor to do so...it is so easy for people to pick on certain faiths as the odd one out, when in fact they are by millions upon millions of people. When someone poses this argument I feel that the best thing to say is, no matter what there are going to be ideas that conflict with what is "right" and what is "wrong" no matter the church there will always be opposition, however the only solution is to promote RIGHTS themselves....the right to be homosexual is an equally important right to practicing your religion.

There should be no hindrance in promoting quality of life because of who you are and the best part of this is, the church has gone out of its way to promote the fact that the two can co exist. The church proclaimed its support to abolish the discrimination of gays, so the important question is: why then do the gay rights communities continue to discriminate the churches? One thing to remind someone too is that the members of the church are not under obligation to subscribe to any political ideology and are free to believe and vote according to their own wishes no matter the issue:
The church released this statement regarding politics:

As citizens we have the privilege and duty of electing office holders and influencing public policy. Participation in the political process affects our communities and nation today and in the future.
Latter-day Saints as citizens are to seek out and then uphold leaders who will act with integrity and are wise, good, and honest. Principles compatible with the gospel may be found in various political parties.

Therefore, in this election year, we urge you to register to vote, to study the issues and candidates carefully and prayerfully, and then to vote for and actively support those you believe will most nearly carry out your ideas of good government.
The Church affirms its neutrality regarding political parties, platforms, and candidates. The Church also affirms its constitutional right of expression on political and social issues.
Sincerely, The First Presidency

The above statement in mind, it is important to remember that no matter the issue, or conflicting ideology to the church that someone pins on you or stereotypes you as, the LDS church clearly states that the individual reserves the right to vote or advocate what they choose politically.

Finally, "I believe" arguments are credible and something I have learned to value recently is that they cannot be and shouldn't be pushed down. There is no way to argue with someone that begins their argument with "I believe" because it is simply that, their belief. I have to respect the fact that you have a belief that you feel makes you stronger. The same goes for anyone that holds strong beliefs in anything, even homosexuality or freedom of religion. They both have a belief that they should be accepted for who they are, and so we, as citizens amongst them have a duty to accept them for who they are. Having said this, I should also say that even though you have a belief does in no way give you the excuse to be stubborn. People need to have an open mind with all issues, without critical thought and openmindedness, society has no growth, it will remain static.

In conclusion, I think the cooperative approach should go both ways: while supporters of same-sex marriage disagree with religious groups on various issues, they can (and should) recognize the right of religious groups and individuals to believe and teach religious principles that may include opposition to homosexuality. For the past few years it has appeared that the gay rights movement and religious liberties were on a collision course, but cooperation like that in Salt Lake is a good reminder that the conflict is both unnecessary and avoidable.

My motto on the issue is simple regarding gay marriage, It's not the right thing to do, but it's their right to do it.

"What happened here tonight I do believe is a historic event," said Brandie Balken, director of the gay rights advocacy group Equality Utah. "I think it establishes that we can stand together on common ground that we don't have to agree on everything, but there are lot of things that we can work on and be allies."