[I had posted these links on my facebook wall with the following caption: http://imgur.com/U2RAb and http://i.imgur.com/fWqV2.png]
Me: Final post regarding what happened in North Carolina, simply because it spells out the situation in layman's terms. It can't be argued.
Cousin's Husband: I tried to jump start a car using 2 positive cables, didn't work! Then I tried it with the two negative cables, still didn't work! Why, because batteries where made to work with a positive and negative, just like male and female. People have been trying to make it work for years now, and thank GOD North Carolina got the votes they needed!
Me: Separation of church and state. That's all that needs to be said. Believe what you may about the afterlife, but you can't use your religious freedom to take away the rights of others. Plus, love isn't a car. Love is a complex entity that we have absolutely no control over. Please understand this isn't an attack against Christianity, this is an attack against inequality.
C.H.: I am all for equal rights for all, regardless of my Christian beliefs. With that being said, I will agree with homosexuality as soon as I see two dudes or two females make a baby together, naturally! Am I not for being mean to gays, because that is not right. And about Love, your right, we have no control over what or who we love, but just because I love to drink liquor in excess doesn't mean its right to be an alcolohic. We have to the difference between right and wrong, sin and not sin, and being gay is not natural, its wrong!
Friend: How can you possibly say that you are for equal rights for all, after saying thank god that North Carolina got the votes that they needed? That's like saying, "I'm not at all racist, but I hate black people purely because of their skin tone." It makes no sense
Me: While you say you're for equal rights, you're fully supporting a vote that's entire intent is to take away people's rights. This wasn't just a vote against gay marriage; this was a vote against anyone who isn't in a traditional marriage. That includes parents who are not married or are in a civil union. It takes away the basic rights of those people, for example, it's near impossible for a family (man and woman, mind you) to get proper healthcare for their children. This vote hurt anyone who didn't follow the Christian and Catholic ideology of marriage. My mom and Donsheng are currently in a civil union. This vote would take away my right to healthcare since Donsheng is the one supporting me. Don't you see how it hurts people when it's placed in real life examples in front of you? Don't you see how many gay individuals commit suicide because they can't help the way they were born and people are telling them they live in sin?
C.H.: Being gay is a choice, just as any other sin.
Me: When did you decide to be straight? I don't want to argue with you, but really... Do you honestly believe that people would make the choice to live a more difficult life? That they would make the choice to be someone who is hated and discriminated against? Do you believe that they wouldn't just change back to straight when they were getting bullied? What about the suicide cases? Don't you think the choice to become straight is easier than the choice to kill yourself? Being gay is no more of a choice than being straight. Talk to any gay person. They'll inform you that there was no point in time that they chose to be gay.
I made a follow up status because I don't intend to offend Christianity, or my family: I just wanted to say that my posts regarding gay rights should not be taken as an attack against Christianity. I have nothing against Christianity as a whole. I am offended, however, by people who want to take away the rights of others in the name of religion when there is a clear separation of church and state. If you believe that God doesn't approve of homosexuality, fine. But let God deal with it on his own in the afterlife, and let people experience equality here on Earth now.
Do you guys have any advice for me? I honestly don't know how to handle people who act out of ignorance for human life and happiness, especially when they're members of my own family.
