Backward thinking

After President Obama signed the Hate Crime bill Wednesday (10/28/09) adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of people protecting, the religious and conservative "family values" organization came out of the woodwork to market the idea that this is wrong, somehow against America and "normal" values. Oh, how backward thinking they are and how they never will understand, and that's because they don't want to, see the truth to their own false arguments.

What they preach is that these are additional values on top of the rest of the rights and protections we have as citizens, and it creates special rights and protections. Well, it does protect gay people and transpeople, no doubt, but those people are not identitifed in the Civil Rights Act for protections which the rest of us have. They're excluded by definition and therefore excluded from rights and protections based on who they are.

The religious and conservatives need to refresh their understanding of the law, because they have it backwards. They have been denying rights and protections to gay people and transpeople under any law, and specifically excluding them from any rights and protections we have based on being homosexual or transgender. That's not what faith is about, and certainly not what God and Jesus would preach, and it's not American.

It's pure and simple discrimination on their part. And their arguments are the stuff of cow pasture material, and not worth much else. It's based on falsehoods and misunderstandings, all intentional to confuse people from the truth. And lying in the name of God isn't good, right or fair. They know that and should apologize to the transpeople of this country for their bigotry and hatred.

They know God accepts everyone, whatever their faith or religion, whatever your values and views, and whatever your sense of being. They know God does understand human diversity and while maybe not liking the violence and injustices done by people, he will accept them to see they understand the errors of the ways and life.

And they know Jesus would sit down and cherish transpeople as he would everyone else, to speak of love and kindness, and to speak against the words of hate. They know it's about acceptance. They know that, and still they speak against other human beings who have done nothing wrong or anything against the word of God or the teachings of Jesus.

In the end when they die and meet God, God will admonish them for the hatred and will remind them how wrong they were to treat people like they did and how backwards thinking they were when the preached of hatred and bigotry. And all the transpeople will still be admitted to heaven in spite of all their misguided rants.