The Politics of Morals

It's an election year. I can tell because the GOP is pushing hot-button moral issues in the house and senate. I remember a very similar scenario in 2004, when Mr. Bush decided it would be a good idea to ban same-sex marriage by proposing a constitutional amendment. If it was that important, why did he not try to push it through when Massachusetts first allowed unions between same-sex couples in 2003? That would certainly have shown moral outrage. The fact that it didn't pass made it look conspicuously like a political stunt made to ensure the religious right is happy that their grand old party is doing something in the name of morality.

Thomas Aquinas wrote in his Summa Theologiae that there are different kinds of laws abiding different communities. Human law is ordained for one kind, and Divine law for another. Divine law pertains to the ordinance of law in relation to God. In a country where there is a supposed separation between church and state, it seems that more and more right wing lawmakers are coddling to a group that promotes institutionalized intolerance. The duty of the lawmaker is to keep in mind the common good, and that includes protecting citizens who are discriminated against and granting them the same rights as all citizens, regardless of the Divine Will.

I am a Catholic. I believe people who truly love each other should be allowed to share their lives together and get the same civil rights as all of us, regardless of sexual orientation. In the face of the law, whether you are a homosexual or heterosexual couple should make no difference. Individuals should be guided by their own moral principles insofar as those are not detrimental to society. Two people joined in loving union really is a time bomb waiting to go off, now isn’t it? If the religious right was really so adamant to preserve the sanctity of marriage, why not go all the way and push the GOP to pass an amendment banning divorce? Then we could preserve the sanctity of marriage forever.