To preface, this is specific to New Zealand but could apply to any country that has the same debate running. Should Same Sex Marriage be legalised? I guess it's all a matter of opinion really and once you have done you're research and looked at both sides of the argument you can make an informed decision. The problem you can often run into is misinformation that masquerades as fact like the flyer I got in the mail today. As I read it I became angry and just had to dig a little further to see if my disgust of this propaganda was justified.
You may wonder why I have included this as part of the According To God blog when it's not a case of equal rights and not really a religious issue but when I turned to page three of the pamphlet I saw that it was production of Family First NZ which at first glance looks like a secular organisation set up to help New Zealand families. My skeptical radar went blip so I checked out the "ABOUT US" page and read all the way to the bottom to find this:
Family First will: speak from a family friendly perspective with an emphasis on the Judeo-Christian values which have benefited New Zealand for generations.
That's when I realised what their agenda really was so I'll go over each of the 21 points to see if there is any validity to it.
1. MARRIAGE IS FOUNDATIONALThroughout history and in virtually all human societies, marriage has always been a union between men and women. Marriage predates both the organised church and the state. The State should not presume to re-engineer a natural human institution.
Marriage has evolved over many thousands of years, in other words the meaning of marriage has changed a huge amount of times. Marriage is a legal bond... that's right, legal, meaning recognised my the State and the state has the ability to change the laws when enough people demand, with justification, a law change by voting. Marriage as we know it has it's foundation in the government.
2. BIOLOGY, NOT BIGOTRYMarriage combines the complementary characteristics of men and women as defined by nature. Nature is exclusive and discriminatory in that only the union of a man and a woman can produce another life. It makes sense to treat something so unique in a unique way.
This is the nice way to say "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve." Well, sometimes nature (or God if you like) screws up and babies don't happen between a man and a woman and sometimes the chemical make up (nature or god, your choice) of a man or a woman is screwed up and they prefer the same sex. This is not, as some religious zealots claim, a choice; after all, would you chose to be with the same sex if you are not gay? No.
3. FOR MARRIAGE, NOT AGAINST PEOPLEThis debate is not a discussion about whether homosexuals are good people or not. Every human being should be treated with dignity and respect. However, many people in the homosexual community also do not agree with same-sex marriage. They are not "homophobic" or "bigoted". Everyone has a right to love whom they choose, but nobody has the right to redefine marriage.
I had a ball with this one, in fact this is the statement that got me so angry I had to write about it. Not only did I do just that (goes without saying) but I emailed the man responsible, Bob McCoskrie with a few questions. The main problem I had was with the phrase "many people in the homosexual community also do not agree with same-sex marriage. The first email I sent (see below) was sent to the only email address, admin@familyfirst.org.nz
Hi,I just got your latest flyer called "21 Great reasons to keep marriage as is" and I wanted to ask about reason #3 "For marriage, not against people". Within that paragraph is a statement that reads; "However, many people in the homosexual community also do not agree with same-sex marriage."Could you please give me references from where that information was sourced.Thank youJustin Harnish
To my surprise I got an email back from the man himself. I got a "Hi Justin" and a lick to a YouTube video.
Hmmm, not much to go by there so I emailed back with...
Hi Bob,You referenced a you tube video which said the same thing but with no actual statistics. This you tube video is produced by another Christian organisation like your own and in the video cited only a couple of gay spokes people. Dr Sharon James also cited Ben SummerSkill, leader of Stonewall. Legalising same sex marriage is 4th on Stonewalls's list of priorities.Do you have non bias statistics or some kind of survey you can show me to back up both Dr Sharon James and your own statement which seems to be taken directly from the you tube video?
Thank youJustin Harnish
He replied with "Yes - anecdotal, oh - plus" and proceeded to list a number of quotes and links...
OK, so a couple of opinion articles from gays NOT in New Zealand. I emailed back.
Hi Bob,Thank you for that, but having a look at this small hand-full we have Irish, Australian and Canadian Gays talking about why, in essence, they don't want their promiscuity to be hampered by a monogamous marriage. Homosexuals will not have children naturally, no argument, they would have to go through a very difficult adoption process and if they succeed they are seen to be good parents in the eyes of the state which is more than I can say for a lot of legitimately married men and women who don't have to go through that process.You are right, this is anecdotal opinions from a very select hand full of non-New Zealand people and by no stretch could you or anybody call this "many" when you consider, best guess, about 10% (a theory devised by Dr Alfred Kinsey) of New Zealanders are homosexual (around 450,000) and are being discriminated against.By telling people of New Zealand that "many" gays are against same sex marriage with out the statistics to back you up, and indeed, there is very little information outside of the census to give any indication of your claims; you are spreading misinformation. In fact, gay communities are pushing for the same sex marriage for equality. To say gay people cannot get married is like saying black people have to sit at the back of the bus or women can't vote... it's an antiquated ideal. Marriage is a legal bond between a man and a woman not a religious bond. It is recognised by law therefore IS a state issue. A secular marriage is still a legal bond by the way.
Your comments are welcome.
Thank youJustin Harnish
He emailed back with...
10% is definitely a theory!!!!!!!!!!!!Hilarious
I'm about to make an ad hominem attack... what a dick! I email back...
Bob, I'm asking you a serious question. If you are trying to appeal to the country to stop the legalisation of same sex marriage you need to have answers for these questions and use facts and not disingenuous statements and other peoples opinion articles.
He replied...
When you compare homosexuality with the civil rights movement - which even the civil rights leaders reject - and quote pedophile Kinsey, it's very hard to be seriousWe completely stand by what we wroteCheersBob McCoskrieNational Director - Family First NZ
Says it all really, doesn't it. I didn't email back as I felt I would just be flogging a dead horse and quite frankly could't see him giving me any more answers or facts about his claims.
This is just the first part of my blog report on a clear cut, undercover discrimination from a religious bigot. Feel free to leave a comment or email Bob McCoskrie, bob@familyfirst.org.nz and let him know you are not impressed.
More to come.
I write this blog because it is a passion of mine to explore the myth of god and along the way I may even learn some cool stuff but it takes a lot of time and energy to write so if you enjoy reading this blog please make a donation by clicking the DONATE button on the right so I can put more time into creating a better blog.
Thank you all
Justin
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