Sometimes I just don’t understand why people think the way they do? I say that only because a close friend of mine recently informed me of a discrimination issue brewing directly in his backyard in Springfield, Missouri.
It appears the issue began back in October when the city became the 14th community in the state to extend protections to gays, lesbians, and other sexual-identity minorities in the areas of employment, housing, and accommodations. It was added to the city’s already existing nondiscrimination clause that includes race, religion, and disability. While that seems like such a great achievement and a huge step forward in overall equality, the Assembly of God and Springfield Citizens United openly denounced the legislation once it passed. Since then, they have also been able to garner enough signatures from the surrounding community to bring it to the next ballot for a public vote.
I’m sure you’re probably wondering what the driving force is for them to want to overturn this new legislation. It’s actually pretty simple in that they believe it now forces everyone in Springfield with deeply held religious beliefs to have to go against them. For example, it would require a deeply conservative Christian owner of an apartment complex who believes homosexuality is against the word of God, to have to accept a gay couple seeking housing. But if the legislation were overturned, it would end up protecting that owner by allowing him to deny housing to that gay couple.
While I find this deeply disturbing to my very core, I did have a good laugh after reading one citizen’s comment on a Springfield news article that reported on this story. It said the title of that article should have been “Religious bigots vow to repeal law so they can continue to legally discriminate.” And although I found their comment amusing, there is definitely a sad truth to it.
Our country has gone through this very thing so many times before, you would think we’d finally all have spiritually woken up to the travesty of denying rights to our fellow human beings. Women, people of color, people of non-Christian based religions, and disabled people have all fought for equal rights over time, having been denied things they never should have been in the first place.
The more I thought about this growing issue in Springfield, the more I wondered if the opposition to the new legislation would support denying equal rights for employment, housing, and accommodation to a woman, a non-white person, or someone in a wheelchair? Probably not, but that’s only because the main argument they’re using is how homosexuality goes against the word of God.
Frankly, I’m so tired of this issue. I’m so tired of the Bible being used as a weapon to support discrimination. I’m so tired of people speaking on behalf of God or Jesus and stating what they do or do not support. As far as I’m concerned, they both represent but one thing, unconditional love.
So for all those people out there that support the Assembly of God or Springfield Citizens United in their quest to overturn this anti-discrimination legislation, please take some time in serious prayer and meditation to ponder one final question. Would God or Jesus, if they were truly filled with nothing but unconditional love, really deny a man or woman a job, housing, or accommodations solely because of their sexual orientation. To me the answer is pretty clear. I just hope the rest of the world will one day see that for themselves as well…
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
It is a very simple constitutional expressed seperation of church and state. I have not personally heard anyone express any anti gay opinion that doesn’t always seem to relate back to a biblical or religious belief. You cannot use your religion to deny me legistlative protections.
So did you get charged up reading this article Dexter? I did at first before I ended up praying and then writing about it… I’m glad you commented!
Andrew, we moved here to Springfield (“the heart of the Ozarks”) because my partner’s 75-year-old dad and 72-year-old mom are here, and because the relationship between us and them had healed in marvelous and miraculous ways. We moved here, too, because it’s pretty country (and we’d lived in some pretty scenery-impaired locations!). Since moving here, we have met a lot of marvelous, open, welcoming and accepting folks. And, unsurprisingly, we have met a lot of unaccepting, jeering, homophobic and/or “righteous” jerks.
I work for a company in Illinois that is open, welcoming, and protective (even promoting) of LGBTQ folks. Our property managers rented to us, knowing we were gay. However, my partner works for a bicycle dealer here in Springfield, with no benefits. He could be fired, instantly without recourse, if it were known he was gay. The extension of non-discrimination benefits.
And, if he *were* fired, and his former co-workers got his address from their boss and came over and painted “FAG” on our garage door or brick or roof, those same wonderful property managers would be 100% within their rights to evict us – EVEN THOUGH they have told us (repeatedly) that we are one of their best tenants and a joy to work with.
The local conservative churches don’t fight this because it’s “Biblical” – they fight it because it’s easy to use gays the same way the Nazis used Jews – as a scapegoat and a common enemy to rally against. If they were following their Bible, they would be way too busy feeding the hungry, giving water to the thirsty, and caring for widows, orphans, and people in need to EVER bother with us homos. People rally around an organization – and contribute heavily to it – when they feel that their “way of life” is threatened. That’s the bottom line: it’s about support and cash, pure and simple.
What they don’t know is that we are already a part of their ways of life:
We are your sons, your daughters, your mothers, fathers, aunts and uncles.
We are your neighbors; your coworkers; your police and firefighters and soldiers, your accountants and nurses and doctors, your teachers and students, your grocery clerks and construction workers. (And yes, we are your church musicians, your florists, your hairdressers, your chefs, and your artists.)
We are here among you… and we are here to stay.
Whoops – that should have said “The extension of non-discrimination benefits that Springfield passed, and these zealots want to repeal, would prevent that kind of baseless involuntary termination.
Steve, thank you for your passionate comments. I too feel overwhelmed at how the churches in our country continue to place more influence over equal benefits than not. Some day I envision a world where people are all united in peace, love, light, and joy, no matter what they are or believe in or do in life or anything for that matter…
That sounds like a world without government and media! unfortunately technology now allows us to tap into whatever L vs R, Gay vs Straight, White vs Black issue the main stream media/government would like to divide us with each and every morning. I have such an amazingly diverse group of people in my life and we all pretty much sit in the middle with a passion to evolve from our hard wired human roots of fear. Using my circle of relationships as a statistical foundation for how severe these issues are, all I ever seem to find is that 80% of people in this country do not partake in the feelings that the media would like you to believe run wild by the masses in our society(or non violent offenders prison). How ever you view it…
I’ve never known of or know anyone who has known of any anti gay marching in the church. I also am pressed to find many gay people who have ever binged out on a night of spray paint and bed sheets in preparation for rainbow day at Chick-fil-A or the court. More than half of the black, gay and religious people I know have a higher income than I do. ALL and I repeat ALL of them pull over the same way I do, visit the same court houses, use the same gym equipment as me, visit all of the same retailers, restaurants, sporting events, schools, social activities, places of employment and vacation areas as well.
In a giant quest to brain wash us otherwise the MEDIA will exploit the 10%ers through all of their sickening social media outlets that all the sudden are deemed so acceptable for children as young as 7-8 years old…can we say BRAIN WASHING????
Imagine a world where Blacks weren’t exploited as helpless and hated by White America with ZERO hope outside of professional sports of ever leaving the “Hood”….but where would the Democrats get their uneducated chunk vote and how in the hell would FOX or CNN make any money???…but what about Al Sharpton (a minister…yes I’ll repeat a minister…hahahaha… ok I’ll quit) what would he do for a living with no race war? He certainly doesn’t have the resume or experience to go apply to be a real minister and spread LOVE!
Imagine a world where churches weren’t pawned by Kings and Queens (the MEDIA) and forced to take a side through the the “Bully Effect” of the Roman Catholic Church (does anyone remember the Romans???) and exploitation of the Bible, only creating a domino effect of the smaller entities to follow suit because of social MEDIA pressure!….oops but wait…where would the republicans get their uneducated chunk vote????
Only when we stand up and stop letting the Government and Media divide us will we get a true leader. A real man of the people and representation of the majority….a Redemlikan! ( Redemption for the Likeness of Man). I’m a devoted Redemlikan….are you?
Nick, thank you for your passion. I understand your pain. And yes, I do agree the Government and Media divide us and force so many of us to take a side. I truly don’t try to take any side unless my rights are being taken away. I am against discrimination towards anyone. And I don’t believe anyone should be allowed to persecute someone based upon their religious beliefs. I long for a world where we all exists in peace and harmony. I long for a world where Christians and Pagans and Wiccans can love each other and respect each other’s practices. I long for a world where people don’t try to one up each other and be better than someone else. I just long for a world that people can look at each other and just love the fact that we are all connected somehow regardless of what we see with our eyes…
Yes this is a great world where everyone drops their self assigned labels and just become disciples…disciples of the last commandment of LOVE…. God Bless!
Well hopefully one day we will see this… one day… 🙂