Standing Up

For a long time, I was quiet in my support for Gay Marriage outside of my family. It's wasn't known to very many people that I don't agree with making any kind of marriage illegal, and I never really posted much on Facebook about it. I'm not sure if it's because I was afraid of what people would think or say or if I just never really had a push to make my beliefs known.

I've decided to change that, however. As a member of the LDS church, it's really hard to support something like this and I was conflicted for a very long time. The Church doesn't support Gay Marriage because it's immoral and not ordained by God. I stand by that belief. Marriage certainly is between a man and woman, that is how God intended it to be and that is how I am going to continue to celebrate it as.

I suppose that if I didn't have a lesbian mother, I wouldn't have any problems with this issue and I would be against it. But I do have a lesbian mother, and she has helped me see the other side of the story. I still believe and will continue to believe that any sexual relations between members of the same sex is as immoral as any sexual relations between an unmarried heterosexual couple, but I don't believe that should make taking someone's right to choose away the right thing.

And that is why I support Gay Marriage. I support equal rights for everybody. I support the right to choose. That's really what this is about. It really bothers me when people bring religion into this because marriage is only a religious thing when you make a religious thing. Otherwise, it is an acknowledgment between you and the state that you are going to take care of another individual and they are going to take care of you. And when we take someone's right to get married, that isn't right.

The way I look at this is that Jesus said love everyone. He didn't say love everyone except the gays. He didn't say love everyone except for the people who disagree with you. He said love everyone. You don't have to support their actions, but you do have to love them for who they are. And unfortunately, their gayness is a part of who they are.

I believe fully in the Gospel and I know that this is the true Church of Jesus Christ. It saddens me greatly to see so many people in the Church forget that. People are so mean, they are so cruel, and they call themselves disciples of Christ. But you are only a true disciple when you learn to love unconditionally. And that includes loving the Church even when they don't agree with you.

Someone said that they stopped going to church because they don't believe in their stance on Gay Marriage and some people congratulated her for standing up for what she believed in. But she didn't. Leaving the Church because you disagree on something is not standing up for what you believe in. Continuing to go to church and doing what you know is right despite what people may say is standing up for what you believe in. Ceasing to go to Church isn't going to help anybody, it's only going to hurt you.

And so that's what I'm trying to do. I'm trying to stand up for what I believe in - equal rights - and doing what I know is right while doing it. I will not be making a statement by breaking the rules.

I will be participating in the Gay Pride Parade on June 3 to show that I still love everyone who may be struggling with Same Sex Attraction.