Is this a sign of things to come? In the name of nondiscrimination, will more states force religious organizations to swallow their principles or go out of business? Same-sex adoption is becoming increasingly common, but it is still highly controversial. Millions of Americans would readily agree that gay and lesbian couples can make loving parents, yet insist nevertheless that kids are better off with loving parents of both sexes. That is neither a radical view nor an intolerant one, but if the kneecapping of Catholic Charities is any indication, it may soon be forbidden.
''As much as one may wish to live and let live," Harvard Law professor Mary Ann Glendon wrote in 2004, during the same-sex marriage debate in Massachusetts, ''the experience in other countries reveals that once these arrangements become law, there will be no live-and-let-live policy for those who differ. Gay-marriage proponents use the language of openness, tolerance, and diversity, yet one foreseeable effect of their success will be to usher in an era of intolerance and discrimination . . . Every person and every religion that disagrees will be labeled as bigoted and openly discriminated against. The ax will fall most heavily on religious persons and groups that don't go along. Religious institutions will be hit with lawsuits if they refuse to compromise their principles."
People often ask: "How does homosexual marriage and civil unions affect your marriage and your family? Why do you care enough to oppose it?" The Catholic Charities case illustrates my normal response to this question. I am opposed to gay rights/marriage laws because, as Prof. Glendon says above, once enacted they become the wedge to persecute religious institutions and religious individuals. The gay rights political agenda is designed to "usher in an era of intolerance and discrimination" directed at anyone who does not openly embrace and celebrate homosexuality.
Here is a link to the essay by Prof. Glendon quoted by Jacoby.
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