Gay marriage

Yesterday in the senate hearings on the confirmation of the new proposed Secretary of State a question was asked about gay marriage. Several years ago this subject came up in our church and the pastor asked for opinions from the parishioners and I sent him the following letter. I read your letter in The Messenger and if I interpreted things correctly you were asking for input and thus I offer my humble opinion. First of all I have no objection to same-sex marriage whether it be in the courthouse or the church and while the American public may be leaning toward approval they are not ready to accept the concept of homosexual life style and I offer the following as proof that the people are not ready. On any given afternoon watching the Soaps you can see a man and a women in bed together going through the motions of sexual activity. You will not see two scantily clad men rolling around in bed, hands roaming and open mouth kissing and pretending to have anal sex. I maintain the reason you will not see that is that people are not ready. When the campaigning for the law was in full swing it was often said that two people in love should be allowed to marry. I am the first to agree that two men loving one another is a beautiful thing as the world can always use more love but that is not the whole story. The part that is not talked about is the intimacy. The accepted way for homosexuals to engage in sexual activity is either or both oral and anal sex. This is somewhat disturbing to many and a subject they would prefer to ignore. I believe that the gay life style should be accepted by all but it must include the whole story. If we are embarrassed or ashamed by the intimate actions of gays we are not ready. Now perhaps partial acceptance precedes full acceptance and if that is the case we can proceed in steps. I do believe that all too often peripheral issues overtake the main purpose and this may be one of those cases as you referred to regarding the Pope. I have been watching the new Pope and I couldn’t be more pleased. His central theme is to look out for those in need. He recently chastised those who concentrate on divisive issues like abortion, same sex marriage and contraception. These are issues designed to allow people to pass judgment on others. It allows some to tell others how they should live their lives and what they should believe. Notice the,”shoulds”, in that sentence. I believe the Pope is telling us to quit wasting all that psychic energy fighting over issues and get on with sharing your talents, knowledge and experience with others in ways that are helpful. Give up trying to be right and trying to convince others of your right and get on with reaching out a helping hand. There are people around you every day that need what you have to offer. Open your eyes and see, and open your heart to those crying out for help. This is what I hear this new Pope saying to me. Thanks John Novick