I came across this article from the blog called “A Fettered Heart.” The writer is named Ryan and speaks with great passion. I share his stance on this topic and wish people would acknowledge we are all one in the eyes of our God. I think having a willingness to converse on the topic is a good stating place. Let’s see where this goes.
He writes…
I am mad! I am pissed off. I am hurt. I am a straight, white Christian male setting foot in the Louisville Gay Community with hopes of organizing support and attention to the unjust isolation of equal rights in America. What do I have to be upset, angry, or hurt about? The Gay Community does not directly effect me in any way.
If the Gay Community is not guaranteed the right to marriage it does not make my marriage any less sacred.
If the Gay Community is not guarenteed the right to adopt or act as foster parents it does not inhibit me from adopting or fostering if I should so chose.
If the Gay Community is not allowed to answer the call to minister to this hurting, dying world it does not make my ordination any less valid.
I am angry that these are a few of the questions I and many others have asked ourselves. The Gay Community is so small their rights do not matter. I am angry that these questions are not only being asked, but they are being used to justify the systemic oppression of a people.
I am angry that Jesus, God, and moral values are being used to justify the injustice being perpetrated upon citizens of this nation.
Gone is the separation of Church and State when it suits us. Gone are the manifold witness to a Gospel that proclaims a place for all as we all fall short of the glory of God.
Gone is the voice of champions of equality demanding that injustice be turned away from the swift application of justice.
I am angry that silence has paralyzed justice. I am angry that religion, Jesus, and God are being used to silence the full inclusion of all citizen of the United States of America. I am nation that guarantees that all of us are created equal, born with certain inalienable rights.
Those inaliable rights were once denied to folks due to the color of their skin. Those rights were once denied to women because they were not men. Those rights are being denied to a people because of who they love, who they share a life with.
I am angry because the silence is perpetrated in the shadows of religion. A perverse application of Gods grace is used to deem a people unworthy of full inclusion into the fearfully and wonderfully made part of creation.
I am tired. I am angry. I am coming out!
In the recent film “Milk” Harvey speaks to a gathered crowd of the Gay Community. He tells them in order to defeat Prop 6 they must “come out.” They must share their store with their friends, families, employers, everyone! Everyone must know their story. They must humanize the struggle against injustice.
In my anger, in my exhaustion I speak to the straight allies out there. You must come out. You got to share your story with your family, friends, EVERYONE!
Our silence is killing people. Our silence is making it OK to isolate, interrogate, and victimize the Gay Community. Every time you say, “I am not sure about this. I just need more time.” You are denying justice to a human being and endangering their very life as you dangle the carrot of justice before their eyes.
We are responsible for the harsh treatment of the Gay Community. We may not be the ones harassing the Gay Community directly. We may not be the ones actively fighting to exclude equal rights to all. We may be quietly sitting in support of equal rights for the Gay Community. My silence hurts, our silence kills. Our silence is hurting people. We got to come out!
Sisters and brothers in your faith communities speak up, in your classrooms speak out, in your homes share. The Gay Community is unjustly being denied basic human rights in our silence. Let us join together in a loud voice to demand that just be restored in this wind of hope, this sweeping march towards change. Let us be a part of history that we can be proud of. Let us come out and speak up in support of our sisters and brothers of the Gay Community.