All Men ARE created Equal (and should be treated as such under the law)

I have spent much of my evening tonight reading through my Twitter and Facebook feeds and have seen many of my friends (and other people that I follow) putting out their thoughts on the Marriage Equality issue that went before the supreme court today. I was glad to see that no one was obnoxiously giving their opinions or railing against those who opposed them. Sometimes when such personally charged issues come to light (especially via social media) it can get ugly. However, after some personal contemplation, and the fact that it is 1:30 am and I still can't fall asleep, I decided that maybe I should put my own opinions down on paper, so to speak, and off my chest.

It is 2013 and we are still battling with "class issues" and the denial of basic human RIGHTS to a whole group of people. When will we FINALLY be able to say ALL Men are Created Equal and actually mean it.

It makes me sad to think that as a nation that claims to be founded on Christian views we sometimes have very un-Christian responses to ideas that in any way go against how we think the world to be. Jesus told us to love our neighbor as ourselves yet we are telling a whole section of our country's population that they are not worth the same status, rights or privileges that the rest of us are granted under the law simply because of who they are attracted to and fall in love with. We cannot choose who it is that we fall in love with. It just happens. So how is it that we can deny someone something, that we told them all their life they could have, just because when they grew up they fell in love with someone of the same sex.

And I know that some who stated they were against same-sex marriage (because of religious reasons) were in favor of civil unions, but this does not actually solve the problem. Civil unions may give same-sex couples some benefits of a marriage but it does not grant them the full status that a married couple has. All they want is the full legal benefits that a marriage has under the law. They are not trying to change the way hetero-sexual couples approach marriage or any of the "traditional" or "religious" aspects of marriage, they just want to be seen as equal in the eyes of the law. No one is saying that you have to accept the way they live their lives. No one is asking you to change your religious beliefs. All they want is to receive the LEGAL rights to the protection that married couples have under the law. Like visitation rights at the hospital. Or the right to retain property after the death of their partner. Or the custody of their children should a partner die, etc. etc.

The law stands apart from the beliefs of the church. That is why we have separation of church and state. Ministers could still deny a same-sex couple to be married in their church or refuse to officiate over the ceremony. That is their right. But same sex couples should still have the right to marry if they choose, just as heterosexual couples do.

I just don't want to live in a world where I can get married (even multiple times) and still be accepted because I am straight. But my cousin cannot simply because he is in love with a man. I can not be the judge of someone else's life. I can not judge whom they love or what they do in the privacy of their home. Only God can judge us when the time comes. I can, however, follow Christ's example and LOVE everyone equally. And in my eyes that means we need to support their right to receive the same protection and benefits under the law.

I really don't even know why it is a debate. In my opinion it is the easiest thing in the world.

ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL.

There should not be conditions for equality. Or has history taught us nothing?