In 1967, the United States Supreme Court declared Virginias 1924 Racial Integrity Act unconstitutional in a unanimous decision. The decision, Loving v Virginia, legalized interracial marriage. The same forces that promoted anti-miscegenation legislation are today targeting gay and lesbian http://www.indeed.com/q-house-cleaning-jobs.html marriages throughout the nation.
Growing Anti-Gay Sentiment in the United States
On March 6, 2010, the Washington Post reported that Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, a conservative Republican, advised Virginias public colleges and universities to revoke policies protecting employees on the basis of sexual orientation. According to Cuccinelli, sexual orientation does not fit into the definition of a protected class.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, detailing the same story (March 5, 2010), hosted dozens of reader comments, the majority of which expressed viewpoints stating that, bigotry is alive and well in the state of Virginia and This is so fifties. But anti-gay activity is not limited to Virginia.
On the same day Cuccinellis announcement was picked up by the media, Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic School in Colorado told the lesbian parents of a preschool child that they will not be allowed to enroll the child in the next school year. On its website, the Archdiocese of Denver affirmed the action (March 5, 2010), stating that No person shall be admitted as a student in any Catholic school unless that person and his/her parent(s) subscribe to the schools philosophy
Mercy and Love Versus the Doctrinaire Position
The school named for the sacred heart of Jesus is led by the Rev. Bill Breslin. Breslins web blog states that, If a child of gay parents comes to our school, and we teach that gay marriage is against the will of God, then the child will think that we are saying their parents are bad. Breslin ends his blog with a brief discussion of relativism, highlighted repeatedly by Pope Benedict XVI as the chief enemy of Catholic moral teaching.
A similar scenario was played out in the District of Columbia in the first week of March 2010where the Washington Archdiocese eliminated spousal benefits for employees of the church, thereby enabling the archdiocese to withhold such benefits from same-sex couples now that these marriages have been legalized in the District. Additionally, an 80-year foster care program facilitated by Catholic Charities was put on hold, following similar measures taken in Boston and San Francisco.
Washington Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl cited Catholic identity and had been quoted in the September 9, 2009 Washington Post stating, We will continue to let the voice of the Church, the teachings of the Church, be heard as clearly as it can be heard How will gay priests interpret these actions? In his 2000 book The Changing Face of the Priesthood (Liturgical Press), Father Donald B. Cozzens asserts that as many has half of all priests in America are gay.
Will the Federal Government Respond?
According to on-going Pew Research Center statistics, Catholics make up 29% of the House and 26% of the Senate; there are six Catholics on the Supreme Court. Although Catholic have a peek at this site legislators may not be inclined to accept Catholic moral teachings (as evidenced by the many pro-choice Catholic Democrats), views on Get the facts gays and lesbians cross the religious and political divide.
So called Tea Party Republicans and, in some cases, Blue Dog Democrats are eager to please constituencies that favor actions like Virginias Attorney General Cuccinelli. The same-sex marriage issue, prominent in the election of 2004, was buried in 2008 by Barak Obamas message of hope. It may resurface, however, as religious groups like the Catholic Church and fundamentalist Protestant denominations such as Baptists use their memberships to influence politics. Despite such actions, however, gay pride continues even in traditionally conservative communities.
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