Does religion condone freedom of sexuality?

Here I am, in the suburbs of Auckland, New Zealand, checking my e-mail. There is nothing special about this, I do it everyday. But what makes the difference today is receiving e-mail from an automatic mailing list that I subscribed to a few months ago. The internet site is known as the Human Rights Campaign and they proudly emblazon their header with their aim – "Working for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equal rights."

Personal views aside, is this not an issue of human rights? The world boasts of the path to equality and the injustice of discrimination, and yet, those in political power (often of a religious opinion) vehemently oppose the equality of marriage for all.

American President George W. Bush, one of the most powerful people in the world at the moment throws all this to the wind as he quotes; "I am mindful that we're all sinners...[…]…I believe marriage is between a man and a woman, and I believe we ought to codify that one way or the other and we have lawyers looking at the best way to do that."

President Bush, starting his answer with a religiously connotated compromise, soon contradicts his fence-sitting with the assurance that heterosexual is the only option appertaining to marriage, and that he indeed has lawyers working on legalizing his discrimination.

George Bush is an open and committed Christian who brings his religious values into many aspects of his campaigns. But is blatant discrimination a fair flip side to the so highly regarded main Christian values of kindness and unconditional love?

Perhaps people need to sit down and think about power, they who hold it, and what they can then do with it.

Can we help change the dictionary definition of marriage to "The legal union of two people" thus ensuring everyone the same civil rights?

I hope so.

You believe in equality for all? Put your foot in the door now and fulfill another part of our path to equality.

Credits:

Website mentioned: Human Rights Campaign: .org

President George W. Bush's quote (cut for length): .