Mother, do you think they'll like this blog?

During one particularly chilly evening in San Diego last week, I got lassoed into a 'discussion' with my mother and grandmother about the issue of gay marriage. I call it a discussion only under the terms that there were two sides to an argument being 'discussed.' I am of the pro persuasion, and they are against. I consider myself informed on the issue, knowing both sides of the argument. I am postulating that my mother and hers are only informed of the anti aspect, and both being fervently religious, designate it as a moral issue. I do not.
A few minutes into the 'discussion' my grandmother attempted to ascertain my sexual orientation, and learning that I wasn't gay, seemed satisfied and gave up control of the conversation to my mother. Apparently, if I believe that any adult should be allowed to marry another of their choosing, I must be gay. I'm afraid not. I know many straight people that do not care whom marries whom, mostly because they realize it does not affect their life. These are people young and old, with children or without, from all walks of life. The few I know that do care, fall into a narrower category. They are overwhelmingly religious Christians, conservative and fairly politically ignorant. Some are worshipers of the Republican deity Sean Hannity, and that explains plenty.
I tried to explain why I felt the way I did about the issue, delving into the social, legal, political and even economical impacts of 'gay marriage.' But for my mother, as with the others I have 'discussed' this with, it always comes back to the 'moral' and religious aspect. They never say it, but I can hear the 'God Hates Fags' chanting going on somewhere in the back of my head. And even though the research overwhelmingly shows that most homosexuality is caused by a genetic aberration showing up in many species, particularly mammals and birds, I could not convince my mother that most homosexuals do not choose it merely on a whim. And it never ceases to amaze me how quick people are to pull out the 'but in the Bible' or 'God said' defense, and almost none of them can quote or even reference a scripture to back it up. Some people cannot make a division between homosexuality being a 'sin' and the legal right of people to marry to their preference. I reminded my mother how it used to be against the law in many places in this country for people to marry across race lines up until 1967, for which she had no reply. The Nazis had a similar law, as did Apartheid South Africa until 1985.
After much personal reflection upon this, I have come to the conclusion that this is the religious majority imposing their beliefs on an entire state (Nation soon to come, they surely hope) by turning a legal issue into a moral one, and forcefully denying rights to a segment of the population; which, as far as I am concerned, is against the Constitution. So once again, in our 'free' country, the minority is being repressed by the Christians, who are acting oh, so Christlike. Hint: he never said a word about homosexuality. Don't believe me, Look it up. I have read my Bible.
At the conclusion to this 'discussion,' the tension was palpable as I attempted every reasonable justification for my belief, and finally was released from my defendant position by a phone call notifying us that my uncle was in the hospital. Then there was a completely different tension in the air, this time not coalescing about my shoulders.
Another word was not breathed about the subject afterward, but I'm sure it will come up again in the future. And since I know I will not change my mind, hopefully I planted a seed of doubt in one of their minds. It was the best I could do. It isn't always easy being the minority.

You do not need the Bible to justify love, but no better tool has been invented to justify hate. - Richard A. Weatherwax