Mr. Crable,
My name is Jack Van Kirk, and I would like to write a letter to the editor commenting on the editorial in the Campus Ledger, “The pursuit of happiness- for one and all?”
First, let me say that, as a devout Catholic, I do believe that homosexual actions are sinful and immoral. But I speak for the Church when I say this: I do not hate gay people themselves. I do not condone or approve of the violent and harassing crimes committed against gays, or the Westboro Baptist Church’s disgraceful and un-Christian protests. No human being deserves to be told that God hates them (in fact they should be told the opposite, that God loves them more than they love themselves). Loving someone does not mean that you have to approve of what they do.
This is the reason I feel gay “marriage” is wrong and should not be allowed. To truly love somebody means that you will the highest possible good for them. A marriage is not a legal contract, as society thinks it is, but a covenant, a promise of selfless faithfulness to death, in which life is procreated through sexual act between a husband and wife.
A homosexual union, therefore, is not a marriage, because it is physically incapable of procreating. If you know basic biology, a man’s body and a woman’s body complement each other; one does not make sense without the other.
A Catholic writer and speaker once said that the virtue of chastity is “not following a list of rules so you’ll avoid hell. It is wanting heaven for the person you love.” If a gay couple truly loves each other, they will not have sexual relations, because they are doing damage to their bodies and souls (semen has a chemical in it that inhibits the immune system, so that the woman’s body does not see the sperm as an invader and so she can conceive. In same-sex relations, this can put both at higher risk for STD infection).
God does not hate gays. Neither do Christians. Neither do I. We love them because we believe we have God, who fulfills all desires. The message is not “do this or you’ll burn in hell”, but “come see what He has, and be fulfilled.”
Sincerely,
Jack Van Kirk
JCCC student