Foreword: This blog post is concerning US
politics and legislation, as homosexuality is still illegal in Lebanon.
The
trend of acceptance of all is surging through America, but Bobby Jindal
questions whether the country’s alias “Land of the Free” still applies in his
article opposing gay marriage.
Is he wrong?:
The author of I’m Holding Firm Against Gay
Marriage argues against new legislation that it is the right of the American state
to deny a person “a license, accreditation, employment or contract … based on
the person or entity’s religious views on the institution of marriage” (Jindal).
However, a person’s religious views on what should be called “marriage” are
basically an opinion, and it is ethnically questionable to deny someone service
just because of their opinions oppose the service giver’s. Jindal further
argues that it is not right to make a religious leader perform a same-sex
wedding ceremony, but as historically religion has been used to degrade an
entire race of people, it follows suit that religion is now being used to
degrade another group of people. The author even asserts that the Bill of
Rights, a document holding the concept of religious liberty, does not give the
right to discriminate against homosexuality, although denying service based on
a person’s opinion (about homosexuality in this case) is almost surely
discrimination.
Or is he right?:
Bobby
Jindal, governor of Louisiana, is fighting for his citizen’s rights. While his
fellow political leaders have assimilated to the growing idea that “strong
protections for religious liberty,“ Jindal has taken his stance to protect a
person’s liberty to act according to their “deeply held religious convictions”
(Jindal). The legislation he is against would force religious leaders such as priests
and ministers to perform same-sex wedding ceremonies, ultimately revoking their
religious freedom as an American to act as their religion dictates. This is
against the very core of American culture, as the first citizens of America
made a pilgrimage from their birth countries to what is now the west coast of
the United States to practice their religion freely. The Bill of Rights, the document holding the
very principle of religious liberty, does not “create a right to discriminate
against, or generally refuse service to, gay men or lesbians” (Jindal). It
simply helps in cases between private parties to ensure that religious people
have legality in their right to practice their religion while running their
business.
Works Cited
Jindal, Bobby. "I'm Holding Firm Against Gay Marriage." The
New York Times. 23 April 2014. Web. 21
October 2015.
moodle
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