A WV Conservative Christian's thoughts on gay equality and WV Senate Bill 238

by Jeffrey Moats

I was recently looking over Senate Bill 238 concerning the protection of homosexuals from discrimination in West Virginia. While I think that private individuals should be able to discriminate however they want in the renting of their property or filling jobs with their company, the fact that so many groups are already protected it only seems logical that sexual orientation would be protected as well. I am glad to see that Senate Bill 238 is moving along.

As I was thinking about this bill the whole subject of gay rights came to mind. First, let me state that as a Christian (a struggling one, but still a Christian) I believe that homosexuality is immoral. However homosexuality does not harm me, my family, or anyone else. Some may argue that homosexuals are a bad influence on children, but in this age of rampant vulgarity I find that argument amusing. In a world where children are surrounded by ignorance, vulgarity, violence, sex and all sorts of crudeness, two guys holding hands in a gas station is not a big deal. Government has no business regulating the behavior of people in any way unless it causes harm to others. Homosexuality causes no harm to anyone else so there is no reason that gay and lesbian citizens should not be afforded the same rights as everyone else in our society.

The major gay rights issue these days is gay marriage. While I am opposed to gay marriage, I am also opposed to the government’s role in marriage altogether. Marriage should be between one man, one woman, and God. The state has no role to play. However, under our current system married couples are afforded privileges that others in society do not have. It is quite simply mean spirited and cruel to not allow gays and lesbians the same rights. Clearly, gay and lesbian couples should be afforded the same rights as anyone else. The whole idea that gay and lesbian couples are not allowed to participate in end of life planning, estate transactions, and other benefits afforded to married couples is discriminatory and some sort of legal remedy should be created. When it is my turn to kick the bucket I want who I want in the room, I want who I want to get my stuff, and gay and lesbian individuals should have the same rights.

With the government spending more money than the next 10 generations can ever hope to repay, with Islamic terrorists wanting to saw our heads off, and a multitude of other problems that could cause the collapse of our way of life, it seems to me that sexual orientation of individuals should be one of the last things that anyone should be worried about. Pass the dang bill and let’s get on with the government’s work.