Virginia Marriage Amendment

[schoolboi]

Virginia is well on its way to having an anti-gay marriage amendment to its constitution. Here is a letter to the editor I sent to several state newspapers today. Let me know what you think.

As a born again Christian I am horrified at the attack on Virginia families that is currently being waged in the state legislature. Sen. Steve Newman claims that his marriage amendment will defend and protect the future of Virginia families. On the contrary this piece of anti-family legislation is written to exclude and tear apart loving, committed families across our commonwealth. Never in the history of any society has family meant exclusively a mixed-gender couple with 2.3 kids. Families consist of grandparents raising grandchildren, single mothers and fathers struggling to make ends meet, same-gender couples living in loving monogamous relationships, and the list could go on and on. True family values include all families. If our commonwealth passes the current “marriage amendment” legislation I fear the negative effects that will be felt in Christ centered same-gender loving families across the state. I urge my fellow Virginians to contact their state representatives and oppose this anti-family and blatantly anti-Christian piece of legislation.

[NathanATX]

looks good!

[SolInvictus]

Agreed: very well written.

[Jennifer5]

Good letter! Ilike how you put it as anti-family rather then anti-gay it catches more attention.

[schoolboi]

The letter has been printed in my local paper today, and I recieved calls from three other papers yesterday confirming that I sent the letter. I hope it does some good.

[NathanATX]

Originally Posted by schoolboi

The letter has been printed in my local paper today, and I recieved calls from three other papers yesterday confirming that I sent the letter. I hope it does some good.

That's awesome!

I need to start submitting articles & letters to my local papers.
Nathan

[julieulander]

I am not familliar with the Anti-Gay marriage laws but I know even if the laws were not passed anti-gay marriage sentiments are being beat into the youth of America.
Since I live in the center of the Bible belt, I barely escaped the fundamentalist thought of most of the churches in my town because my mother knew better. However, now I attend a church who claims to love all people but found that was not true this past weekend.
In my role as youth leader, I attended with my church's youth group a conference in North Carolina that has been a tradition for about seven years. However, it was my first time. Most of the 1,000 sixth through twelth graders were dressed in "straight edge" sort of clothing and carrying a skate board. I was calmed by this fact since judging by their dress, I did not think anything as barbaric as anti-gay sentiments would be stood for by this crowd.
I was sorely mistaken. At first it started out as a whisper but by the last day, a priest stood in the middle of the santuary and practically screamed, "Marriage is meant for a man and a woman, we will not stand for anything else." As screams and cheering and clapping went on all around me, I felt sick to my stomach.
It is important to speak to the youth! As the suicide rate goes up and more teens feel like outcast in this "Focus on the Family" type world we are in right now. They need to know that Jesus loves all people!
Please take time to educate any young people in your life. Let them know there are choices and the Bible, just like any other translation of a book, is just that, a translation, that can be manipulated into what the translator wants it to say. The young people of today need the courage to make their own belief system and not just trust the white male supremecy that preaches their own agenda!

[schoolboi]

Julie,

Thanks for your post, and welcome to the forum.

You are right that youth are being targeted with anti-gay bias all across the country and even in mainline churches. I am very fortunate to be the youth pastor at my church here in Falwell-ville (aka: Lynchburg) VA. The youth of my church are active in local politics and are advocates for progressive social issues. They express their faith by being social activists. If they would have been in the situation that you just described they would have probably stormed the stage and held a sit in. They are awesome.

[pnggrad79]

Schoolboi,
There is a gay church in Lynchburg? Wow! I can't believe the Falwell group hasn't burned it down by now and hung ya'll from the highest tree limb. Just kidding, although it does surprise considering where Falwell's church is. How big is your church? Is it an MCC or a welcoming and affirming church?
I know coming from Texas, it is surprising to me that I haven't been lynched either. But I go to church in Houston, which was one of the counties that by and large voted against the gay marriage amendment we had in November. Austin and Dallas did too.

[Zerbie]

Somehow I missed the fact that you were living in Houston. What area? I lived there for several years and loved it, despite that some of the worst moments of my life occured there! Including homophobic traumas. . .

Some girl friends took me a couple times to an MCC that was, I believe, in the Heights. . .we all lived in Montrose, and the church was not too far from us.

I've lived in the grad dorms at Rice, in the heart of Montrose, in West U, and out in Braeswood just inside the 610 and about 2 or 3 miles from the Astrodome. Would've stayed in Montrose the whole time, but ironically, that is where the homophobic landlord threw me out on the street. What a prick. But I also found a lot of openly gay people in Houston who had not experienced that kind of garbage, so like any area, it's mixed. Though I grant you that Texas is on average a very homophobic place, or *can* be.

[schoolboi]

Originally Posted by pnggrad79

Schoolboi,
There is a gay church in Lynchburg?

Pnggrad79,

Actually there is not a “gay” church in Lynchburg, but I am the openly gay youth director at First Christian Church/Disciples of Christ. I am quite blessed to be at a church where sexual orientation is not an issue. It’s just a normal church with normal people. About 5% of the church is GLBT. If someone wants to have a wedding at the church gender is not an issue. If a couple wants to join the church or be in leadership sexual orientation is never even considered. It’s what church and the rest of society should be like. At the same time when there is injustice in the community regarding GLBT people the members of my church (mostly straight as I have said) are the first to stand up for truth. Mel White and Gary Nixon are also members of my church by the way.

[pnggrad79]

I am glad to know that you are the only openly gay minister there. I didn't know Mel and his partner, Gary were members there. I thought he was with the Cathedral of Hope in Dallas.

[schoolboi]

Mel and Gary have not been at the Cathedral of Hope for many years. They lived in CA until they rented a house across the street from Jerry Falwell’s church in 2002. See this article. They liked Lynchburg so much they decided to stay and bought a home here. So Soulforce’s offices are based in Lynchburg.

I move to Lynchburg in January of 2003 after graduating college to be close to Mel and Gary, volunteer with Soulforce, and help make Lynchburg more LGBT friendly. It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I have learned so much!

[pineywoods]

like in other parts of the country it will more then likely pass, have you considered looking up the sponsors of the amendment and thier campaign contributors and fighting back with a boycott of their personal businesses. they only understand the dollar and these gay issues are political smokescreens. help teach the rich when they use scapegoat tactics they only lose money and many of them will stop or control the legislator that they already own.---jeff

[pineywoods]

austin voted against it