Parents speak out for fallen soldier son

There has been a lot of press on "marriage is between one man and one woman" but no one really says where that came from. If you use the Bible then you must have notice how many men in it had many wives along with concubines like Hagar. If you refer to the New Testament then you would have to have noticed the many sections on divorce and adultery. The truth is that if people want to simply use the Bible to back up anything in this country, they avoid the documents that established this nation. It was never supposed to be about forcing anyone to believe or follow one faith over another. The law of this nation is what everyone has to live by and the law of the faith we choose is what all within that faith are supposed to live by.

There are so many different denominations of Christians, few have thought of those differences when they hear the word "Christian" and how it is up to all of us to decide on our own. The Presbyterian Church USA allows gay people.

If this nation formed to provide a safe place where people could worship as they see fit were to take a religious stand, then what does that say about the churches that have no problem with gay people? It is always too easy to claim one thing as long as no one notices the other.

A preacher, a teacher, a soldier's parents, a GOP leader: Allies in marriage votes
By Wayne Drash
CNN
November 18, 2012

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
A diverse coalition joined forces to bring historic change on same-sex marriage
Minnesota parents of a fallen soldier who was gay worried his death would be in vain
Republican in Maine feared backlash but broke with party line anyway
A preacher in Maryland spoke up to counter media dominance of right-wing pastors

(CNN) -- After their son was killed in battle in Afghanistan, Lori and Jeff Wilfahrt crisscrossed their home state of Minnesota. They spoke at churches, schools, book clubs. They spoke of Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt's love of country and the Constitution.

They spoke, too, of grief. They are a mother and father who utterly miss their son, a soldier who was openly gay.

On Tuesday, November 6, the Wilfahrts entered their polling station in Rosemount to vote against a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and woman. Both parents wondered: Had their boy died protecting homophobes who would deny him rights back home?

In Frederick, Maryland, the Rev. Barbara Kershner Daniel had lived with guilt for nearly 25 years. A fellow preacher who was gay had asked her to officiate his wedding with his partner. She told him no.

"Why did I do that?" she has asked herself ever since.

Mark Ellis, the former GOP state chairman in Maine, knew where he stood on the issue of same-sex marriage. Yet he struggled with whether it would hurt him professionally to break from his party.

In the northern suburbs of Seattle, middle school band and orchestra teacher Michael Clark had always spoken of dignity and respect for all. He and his partner of 18 years sat together at their dining table to vote early this year.

Their ballots weren't just votes. They were an affirmation of their love.
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