A lot of us dream of our wedding since we are very young. We might keep a scrap book with pictures of wedding dresses. We might design our menu or day dream about the reception. To some of us, it is very important that our children come into an established, stable union between ourselves and our partners. To some others it is extremely important that "the ties" people bind in matrimony be "tied before G-d." These people consider matrimony an essential sacrament through which they enhance their faith, an invitation that allows G-d into every moment of their married lives.
Because I know that marriage is all of these things and so much more, I am very happy to receive the news that France is now allowing homosexuals the opportunity to marry. With this action, France joins Holland, Belgium, Spain, Canada, South Africa, Norway, Switzerland, Portugal, Iceland, Argentina, Denmark, Uruguay, and New Zealand in granting its citizens this freedom. Although marriage itself is not a human right, the right to be happy is. The happiness and freedom one experiences during one's wedding are undeniably some of the greatest emotions we will ever feel before we die, right along with the birth of our children, our first home, and our first, successful job. I am proud to find France, and these other countries, standing up for everyone's right to be happy.
You see, homosexuals are people, and people have the right to be free and to be happy. We all do! I know certain groups quote The Holy Bible as a source of their rationale for not allowing homosexuals to be married. I need to respect that opinion, and to respect the source. Why? Because I practice respect. However, countries are not governed by one religion or another. Christianity cannot be the basis upon which the laws that apply to all humans is based, simply because we are not all Christians. Besides, the same people who quote The Bible when it comes to homosexuals ignores the fact that slavery is also found within the Holy Book; not to mention the atrocious way women are treated in some of its pages. Above all, I find that people who quote The Bible as their excuse for not allowing homosexuals to be married, or to be happy, might have missed the point of Christianity. Jesus Christ did not preach "love some." He preached "love your neighbour." All of them. He didn't come to divide a people, but to unite them and to remind them to look towards G-d, a fact that they had forgotten. Every gesture and every story in Jesus's ministry speaks of love, forgiveness, inclusion, and human rights.
Last, but not least, marriage is a source of security. We would all love to believe that relationships end perfectly for everyone, that abuse and neglect never occur, that everything is Honky Dory until we die. This isn't so for everyone. Some spouses lack health benefits. Some spouses experience abuse. Some spouses find their mother-in-law withdrawing them out of the lives of their beloved when he or she contracts a terminal disease. If a relationship comes to an end, what decisions are made in regards to the children, the house, the money? This is when marriage steps in and grants security to both parts of a relationship. Certain laws and procedures come into place, and they guarantee that the end of the relationship benefits both people. It also guarantees certain rights in the event of terminal illness, ones that cannot be denied. For two people who are in love and who seriously consider sharing the rest of their lives together, this form of security is vital. It allows love to flourish.
I am happy France took the step to allow homosexuals the opportunity to be married. I hope during the next few months France celebrates a host of beautiful and joyous wedding celebrations. I hope the people who plan them, hold them, and photograph them enjoy them deeply. I hope the men and women who celebrate them experience unbridled bliss as they take their vows before their families, friends, and G-d. May love surround them, always.
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