A Break From the Norm

This post won't be about Liddy. It won't really be about Down syndrome. It'll be a break from what this blog usually focuses on....simply because I feel strongly the need to put my two cents into an ongoing debate that is the focus of a whole lot of attention this week...and will continue to be in the coming weeks, and even possibly months. Gay marriage. I'm sure that I don't have a lot to say that hasn't been said already (and more than likely somewhere with much wider readership than my own humble blog) but I DO feel that it still needs to be said.
I am a heterosexual woman. I consider myself to be a Christian, despite the fact that I don't currently attend church. I was raised in the church and while I may not know everything about the Bible, I do know enough to get by and to try to live according to God's will. Not that I always live a Godly life. I sin. I make mistakes. I am forced to ask for God's forgiveness on a regular basis.
With all that being said, I wholeheartedly support gay marriage. It's probably not a subject that I had ever given much thought to before Liddy was born and if I had had a leaning one way or the other, I probably wouldn't have voiced it publicly. Before Liddy, I was sort of a coward, I'm ashamed to admit. A rock the boat sort of girl I have never been. However, the person I was before Liddy has been changed and the new person I have become simply can not and will not remain silent when I am faced with what I believe to be injustice and inequality.
Who am I to say that someone should not enjoy the rights I myself enjoy or the rights that I fight so hard for for my daughter because they were born with a different sexual preference than I myself was? How can I not openly embrace the couples I know who are loving and deeply committed to each other, who accept others for who they are without question? And how can I, as a self proclaimed Christian, declare them as sinners unworthy of compassion, acceptance and love?
So while I see the divide grow, even within our Down syndrome community, I can't help but ask myself..."How does this happen?" How does the same group of individuals who fight so hard for their own children's inclusion, acceptance, and basic human rights turn their backs on another group of people who are only asking for the same thing? Because, in essence, that is PRECISELY what is happening when someone declares their aversion to everyone being treated equally.
"The Bible says that homosexuality is an abomination." I hear you. The Bible also says that anyone who eats the fat of an animal should be cut off from their people, any one who blasphemes the name of the Lord should be put to death, we shouldn't eat beef, or cut our hair, or wear clothing woven of different fabrics. More importantly, it says that we should love our neighbors as ourselves, leave the judgement to God and forgive the sins of others, just as they forgive us of our own. So where do we get off proclaiming to be Christian, yet acting so very un-Christ-like? I'm pretty sure that Jesus would be highly disappointed in some of His people right now.
"Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." Hmmm. So who here is capable of casting that first stone? I know for sure it's not me. And I am pretty positive it's probably not you either.
So can we all just agree to disagree, if that is the case, and let others live their lives as they so choose? Can we let them marry who they wish, whether we condone it or not? Because in my opinion, we're all just people searching for happiness and personal fulfillment. Most of us want a better world for our kids to grow up in. A whole lot of us fight tooth and nail for our kids to have the same rights that "typical" people do.And I would bet solid money that if someone tried to make a law that said kids with Ds could never get married, all Hell would break loose. I know I'd be right there fighting for all I was worth. Which is why I'm throwing my hat into THIS fight as well. These people who want nothing more than to get married are someone's children, someone's sisters and someone's brothers. Someday it might be YOUR child. And don't we all deep down just want our kids to be happy?

Spread love, not hate. Because the world could really use a whole lot more of one and a whole lot less of the other.......