According To Protesters, "God Hates Fags"

Have you ever had one of those moments that just struck a cord with you? I had one of those yesterday evening. My brother told me that he and his friend were going to check out the Westboro Baptist Church protesters... mainly just curious as to whether or not these people lived up to the hype. Although they were small in numbers, they did not disappoint. Of the 5-6 protesters present, each one of these extremist nut jobs was walking around carrying a sign of similar nature. While my brother did not feel inclined to stop and take pictures, given the violent history of these screwballs, he did read a few. Some read "God hates fags", "God hates Obama", "Fags doom nations", and so on.

Folks... these Westboro people are extremist... but they are not alone. Many people in this nation believe just as they do. Many people on the left support their belief of "God hates soldiers" and many on the right support their belief of "God hates fags". Many people have asked me what I support when it comes to homosexuality. After all, not only am I a very vocal Libertarian, but I'm also an ordained minister who follows the Christian faith... I think now is a good time to share that with you.

I, Matthew Q. Llewellyn, do not support gay rights... I do not support straight rights... I support human rights. I do not support government endorsed gay marriage... I do not support government endorsed straight marriage... I support non-government oppression of private marriage rights. I do not like green eggs and ham, I do not like them Sam I am. ... Sorry... I got off track. Moving on.

People have to realize that this debate, when speaking of "rights", is not one that belongs in the religious arena. This is a political debate because currently, it is governed by political figures... It shouldn't be, but it is.

Many on the right argue that gay marriages destroy the institute or marriage. I, being the wise one that I am, argue that the current debauchery, adultery and sky rocketing divorce rates among straight christian couples has already destroyed the institute or marriage. I believe Jesus put it best when He said "Before you can tell your brother to remove the speck of dust from his eye, you must first remove the plank from your own." (some interpretations of the bible say "splinter" instead of "speck of dust")

This nation... our nation... the United States... if we are ever going to take it back... must become a nation united for a single purpose... and that purpose is the original purpose... freedom. In particular, freedom not regulated by religion.

The founding fathers were very clear about not legislating from the pulpit. Benjamin Franklin, a devout believer in Jesus Christ, understood and frequently spoke of the need to separate the fundamental law of the land from the prevailing religious doctrine of the time. He also understood that he, and the other founding fathers, were fighting for a republic form of government, not a democracy. Democracy, which is what our nation has become, is a farce form of government which serves only to conceal socialist and tyrannical government. Democracy is the form of government which oppresses the few to appease the many. While 1st Officer Spock may have been noble when he said "The needs of the many out weight the needs of the few", he wasn't referring to government policy.

We, and I am speaking now to my fellow Christians, must come to understand that gay rights, regardless of how much you disagree with them in a theological format, are rights that are protected by the Constitution... you may not immediately see it... but it is there.

The Constitution states that no one may be denied the right to life, liberty or property without the due process of law. The right to marry, without any argument, is a matter of personal liberty. While you may quickly argue that gays have been denied marriage rights through the due process of law, I will remind you that while this is true, it was done illegally, as it was done because of Christian ideology and not by criminal action. The violation of criminal law is what allows, with due process of law, the denial of life, liberty or property. While being gay may be a religious crime, it is not a crime in a free nation.

So when did all of this begin? Were gays being denied marriage rights in the early United States? Some may say no... I would say, "who knows?". Certainly men and women have been gay since the days of the bible... they just weren't as open with it as the are today. To define this problem and where it began, you need to understand when and why the government took control of marriage in the first place. Marriage, for all intents and purposes, has always been a private institution. While certificates of marriage were granted by the governments standing at the time, they were not controlled. It was not until the early 20th century in the U.S. that our dear government seized control of who could and could not receive a marriage license in an attempt to stop blacks from marrying whites. Back then it was considered as evil for a black to marry a white as it is today for a man to marry a man. Funny how with time, freedom prevailed in that arena... let's hope freedom prevails here as well.

Gay marriage is not a matter of gay rights. Hell, gay rights are not a matter of gay rights. In our nation, in this experiment of freedom, we must realize that this debate is a matter of individual human rights... period.

In a free nation, our government should have no control over who can and can not marry. That control should be with the individuals who have the legal authority to officiate weddings. The only hand government should be allowed to have in all of this is issuing, without question, a marriage license for the purpose of collecting and analyzing data. I promise you... without any doubt in my mind... gay marriage poses no risk to your life whatsoever. As such, in a free nation, it can not be criminalized.

Should government now legalize gay marriage? No... government should be removed from the game of marriage permanently, both gay and straight.

And just a little side note before I go for the day...

Gay people... those of us who support freedom, support your rights. Does that mean we agree with your lifestyle? For some yes, for others no. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that we support your rights as free citizens, just as we expect you to support ours. However... those of you marching in some of the more colorful gay rights parades are not making it any easier on yourselves. If you are going to be taken seriously, please, please, please, take a look at the gay republicans and take notice of their suits and ties. I assure you, the ass-less chaps, flamingo suits and cross-dressing clowns on stilts are not adding any level of legitimacy to your argument. And frankly, just as no one wants to see my fat ass in ass-less chaps... we don't want to see your ass in ass-less chaps.

I think that about sums everything up.

I bid you good day folks.

Matthew Q. Llewellyn

Copyright 2009 Matthew Q. Llewellyn