Same Sex Marriage

By Gary Konecky

I recently had the wonderful privilege to participate on a very distinguished panel of clergy that discussed the issue of sexual orientation and scripture. One of the audience members asked a question that attempted to link the ban in Leviticus on homosexuality to the ban in Leviticus on bestiality. Several panel members addressed this question. Then the audience member asked it again, which I take as unwillingness to listen or to accept the pro-gay explanation that was offered.

This brings up several issues, one of which is why deliberately misinterpret scripture? The ban in Leviticus is not a ban on all homosexual expression. A literal reading of scripture clearly indicates that it is referring to male homosexuality (not lesbianism) and it appears to not be banning all male homosexual sex acts. Therefore, we can already conclude these two verses are not the ban that this person was claiming which leaves us with the question of why deliberately misinterpret scripture?

The next issue is the ridiculous argument against same sex marriage that the religious right and bible thumping bigots make. This is the slippery slope argument that somehow marriage is so fragile that it needs to be an excusive club for heterosexuals only. Implied in this argument is the premise that only heterosexuals are capable of loving each other and that homosexuals do not form loving relationships but only rut around like farm animals. I would like to point out that I have never heard of any cleric who was approached by two farm animals that wanted to be married. Furthermore, an approximately 50% divorce rate among heterosexuals seems to indicate that heterosexuals have done far more harm to marriage than any gay or lesbian person could ever do.

Another problem with this argument by religious fundamentalists and bigots is that it equates a committed relationship between two consenting adults to a sex act involving sheep. Recently, my lover of 19 years and I went for a walk in a local park. This was the first time that we had walked in that park in many years without our pet dog (who had died earlier this year). How can any sane individual equate 19 years of for richer and poorer, in sickness and in health, to sex with a pet dog? Much as we loved the dog, no one ever had sex with her. How does one equate the worry about a sick lover who is in the hospital with a sex act involving an animal? What type of sick individual would equate 5 or 10 or 20 or 50 years of two adults in a committed relationship to a sex act involving an a cow? How could anyone in their right mind equate an intimate loving walk in a park by two adults with a sex act involving a donkey? Yet that is what this audience member did and that is what members of the clergy taught him.

Why is that when two heterosexuals walk in public with their children, children that are the product of heterosexual sexual intercourse, they are not flaunting their sexuality; yet if two men walk down the street holding hands they are flaunting their sexuality? Why is it that those who oppose equality for gays and lesbians can only think of gays and lesbians in terms of what they do in the privacy of their bedroom? Does anyone think that gays and lesbians have such great sex that they would go through all the trials and tribulations of a committed relationship for a quickie?

Those who oppose same sex marriage are at best uneducated and are blatant hate mongering bigots at worst. In either event, they use ridiculous, completely bogus arguments to oppose same sex marriage. Same sex marriage will not lead to incest any more than heterosexual marriage does. Same sex marriage will not lead to people marrying their pets. Same sex marriage will not lead to pedophilia. There is no way that two loving adults in a committed relationship can be a threat to anyone’s marriage. To say any of these other things is to tell a lie. All these arguments against same sex marriage are bogus, they are all red herrings designed to distract people from the real issue.

As for the pedophilia argument, I want to point out that the Roman Catholic Church, that has spent millions of dollars opposing any civil rights for gays and lesbians, is known for a worldwide series of pedophilia scandals.

The there are those who claim that same sex relationships are unnatural. They make this argument despite a massive body of scientific evidence that proves that homosexuality is a natural behavior common to all mammals.

Then there is the bible literalist interpretation that says homosexuality is a sin. To which Rev. Mel White replies: “Even when we believe the Scriptures are ‘infallible’ or ‘without error,’ it's terribly dangerous to think that our understanding of every biblical text is also without error. We are human. We are fallible. And we can misunderstand and misinterpret these ancient words -- with tragic results.”

Leviticus Rabbah 22:1 teaches us: “He who loves the study of G-d’s words will not be satisfied with the written Torah, but will go on to the Mishnah and Talmud.” In Baba Metzia 33, we are told: “The Rabbis have taught: ‘Those who study Scripture are scholars of degree, but not a high degree. Those who study Mishnah are scholars of higher degree. Those who study Talmud are scholars of the highest degree.’” Lastly, according to Sopherim 16; “We read: ‘The L-rd spoke with you faces to faces.’ (Deut. 5:4) The passage does not read ‘pan to pan,’ face to face, but ‘panim le-panim,’ faces to faces. This teaches there are four faces or kinds of Torah: Scripture, Mishnah, Halakah, and Aggadah.” In Pirkei Avot 5:21, we are taught: “HE USED TO SAY: FIVE YEARS [IS THE AGE] FOR [THE STUDY OF] SCRIPTURE, TEN-FOR [THE STUDY OF] MISHNAH, THIRTEEN-FOR [BECOMING SUBJECT TO] COMMANDMENTS, FIFTEEN-FOR [THE STUDY OF] TALMUD…” (see note)

The real issue of same sex marriage is about love, as in two adults who care for each other more than they care for life itself. It is about giving two people (who love and want to care for each other) the tools needed so that they can love and care for each other. Such a love should be cherished and strengthened by society. Such a love should not be open to public debate. Such a love should not be the subject of political campaigns. Such a love should not be subjected to being voted on. Such a love should not be subjected to the whims of a “majority”. Such a love should not be made contingent on the approval of the Roman Catholic Church, nor the approval of the Mormons, nor the approval of fundamentalist “Christians,” nor the approval of Muslims, nor the approval of Orthodox Jews. Such a commitment should be the providence of the two people who G-d has blessed so that they were able to find each other and to love each other. Let us remember that one of the greatest curses is that of loneliness and that one of the greatest tragedies is to die alone and unloved.

Civil marriage is about strengthening the bonds of love and giving two adults in a committed relationship the tools needed to take care of each other. Those tools being health insurance (which many employers provide for married employees and their spouses), hospital visitation rights (which are frequently restricted to family members), immigration rights (so as not to break up a loving relationship because one person was not born here), the right to bury ones spouse (which does not include mere lovers or mere domestic partners) and finally the right to inherit property (which again does not include lovers or domestic partners). How dare anyone attempt to interfere in such a personal and intimate relationship? How dare anyone interfere in such a loving relationship with the goal of destroying such a relationship? How dare anyone liken such a caring relationship to a sex act with an animal? How dare anyone call loving and caring for another person a sin?

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Note: The quote from Pirkei Avot is in all caps as the quote is a mishnah, To distinguish mishnah from gemara, some publishers print the mishnah in all caps when it is printed in English. The source of the quote is The Soncino Talmud , Judaic Classics by David Kantrowitz, Version 3.0.8, Copyright 1991-2004.

The Need For a Federal Hate Crimes Law - Yet Again

At the end of June Fort Worth, TX police and TABC officers raided a gay bar. They beat one patron so badly he was hospitalized with life threatening injuries. The police, when caught, publicly lied about the raid, and used the infamous gay panic defense to justify their acts of violence.

In mid September, police raided a gay bar in Atlanta, GA. Again, the police violated the Constitutional rights of the people in the bar. Again, the police used the infamous gay panic defense to justify their violent conduct.

Does anyone think that a hate crime against the LGBTI community in Fort Worth or Atlanta would receive a proper investigation? How many other raids happened this summer that did not make it into a news report? How many other police departments (Fair Lawn, NJ for instance) have incompetent police departments that refuse to even acknowledge a hate crime has taken place?

Year after year after year, Congress has no nothing, nothing to protect the LGBTI citizens of this country. It is time for the President and Congress to make it a federal crime for local, gay-bashing, police departments to engage in violence against the LGBTI community. It is time to make bashing the LGBTI community a crime.



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Details about the September Atlanta, GA raid can be found at:
http://www.sovo.com/2009/9-14/news/localnews/10607.cfm?CFID=37445236&CFTOKEN=77612917
http://www.bilerico.com/2009/09/there_was_a_protest_this.php
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/jaysays/2009/09/24/Closet-Talk-The-Eagle-Bar-Raid-with-Nicholas-and-Johnnie

Action Alert: Fort Worth Police Raid on the Rainbow Lounge - “You shall not stand by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood.”

On June 28, 2009, I was in New York City with approximately one million other people. We were in New York City to mark the 40^th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous, violent demonstrations against a New York City Police Department (NYPD) raid that took place in the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village (in New York City). The Stonewall Riots are considered the birth of the modern gay and lesbian civil rights movement.

On June 28, 2009, the same day we were marking the 40^th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, the Fort Worth Police Department and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission tried to reenact the failed NYPD raid on the Stonewall Inn. As there is no Stonewall Inn in Fort Worth, Taxes, they raided the Rainbow Lounge, a Fort Worth gay bar that had been open for approximately two weeks. They made a series of questionable arrests for public intoxication. More importantly, these law enforcement officials physically attacked bar patrons. It appears they deliberately went looking to beat up and arrest the patrons without cause. One patron, Chad Gibson, has been charged with public intoxication. He is suffering from a head injury after being attacked by five law enforcement officials and he may not survive.

Owing to the wonders of the Internet and cell phone cameras, this incident has been reported and documented. An excellent account of this incident can be found at: http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/06/30/fort-worth-police-chief-that-faggot-had-it-coming

Judging from the numerous misleading statements made by the Fort Worth Police Department (FWPD), as well as the misleading statements made by the Chief of the FWPD and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), I have little faith that justice will be done in this case. The FWPD and TABC have launched their own “investigations.” Maybe they will conduct complete and through investigations. So far, both the FWPD and TABC seem more interested in public relations and lying about what they did.

The FWPD and TABC now want us to believe that after they went into a gay bar and without provocation violently attacked bar patrons, then lied about the attacks; that the very same people who they attacked should go to the very same FWPD and TABC that attacked them and swear out statements against the FWPD and TABC officers. They want the victims to believe that their complaints will be taken seriously, will be fairly investigated, and that FWPD and TABC officers will not retaliate against them after the make charges against FWPD and TABC officers.

I suspect there will not be an investigation by either the FWPD or the TABC. I suspect there will be a whitewashing of the incident and the whitewashing will be called a “complete and thorough investigation.” I suspect that being Fort Worth is run by politicians who will want to be re-elected, the FWPD will find a scapegoat to blame the incident on. The scapegoat will probably be the TABC. I suspect there will not be any criminal prosecutions of the FWPD or TABC officers who attacked the patrons on the grounds that no one was willing to come forward given the situation I described in the preceding paragraph. I suspect that no FWPD or TABC officers will be disciplined. I suspect the FWPD and TABC will prosecute bar patrons in an attempt to publicly justify their outrageous conduct during a ridiculous bar raid, a bar raid that appears to have the sole purpose of intimidation of the gay community in Texas, especially Fort Worth, Texas.

This brings me to Leviticus 19:16, which states: “You shall not stand by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood. I am the L-rd.”

<http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9920/showrashi/true>

Rashi the great Torah commentator explains, “I am the L-rd” as follows:

I am the Lord: faithful to pay reward [to those who heed the above warnings], and faithful to exact punishment [upon those who transgress them].

<http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9920/showrashi/true>

The question is not if we are supposed to stand by while this blood is shed, but how we are supposed to this outrageous attack. Leviticus 19:16 demands that we do something.

The answer is before the US Congress. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act has been languishing in the US Senate. Those bigots who hate, including some members of the clergy and some members of Congress, have lied about this proposed law and its consequences. Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) went so far as to lie about Matthew Shepard’s death and make cruel insensitive remarks in front of the dead child’s mother, Judy Shepard.

The fact of the matter is that the FWPD and TABC have proven in shed blood that local law enforcement cannot be trusted. If the victims of this attack are to see justice (“Justice, justice shall you pursue” – Deuteronomy16: 20), it is imperative that federal law enforcement be empowered to launch a complete investigation of this and other incidents. The Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act would give the federal government the authority to investigate incidents such as the one at the Rainbow Lounge. Sadly, this needed legislation is stalled in the US Senate. I call upon you to contact the President, your two Senators and your Representative and demand that they push for immediate passage of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act (S. 909). I call upon you to demand that the FBI launch an independent investigation into this unprovoked attack.

An excellent statement in support of this important legislation can be found at: http://forum.themonastery.org/index.php?showtopic=5936.

Your congressional delegation can be reached at 202-224-3121 or at http://www.house.gov/ and http://senate.gov/. The White House can be reached at 202-456-1414 or at http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/.

Forty years after the NYPD raid on the Stonewall Inn, police raids of gay bars and attacks by police on bar patrons should be a thing of the past. It is time that we make it a thing of the past. For G-d tells us “You shall not stand by [the shedding of] your fellow's blood. I am the Lord.” Furthermore, the L-rd is faithful to pay reward to those who do not stand by while their brothers’ blood is shed.