I think there was a fundamental mistake in the design of the discussion. The issue, as far as I'm concerned and my rights are concerned isn't about the right to get married or have my marriage/civil union blessed by the lutheran Church but to actually get married and have the right to adopt a child by the Finnish constitution/law. I personally don't care whether I can get the church's blessing but apparently there are still a lot of gay people who do. But the real issue is to get equal rights for gay couples. And the church does NOT have any say in the juridical process in Finland. Church is church and parliament is the parliament, the entity that makes the laws. Where were the people who could have talked about the effects to the economy/politics/constitution if we had the right to marry? Is there even such a situation where gay marriage and rights to adopt would be harmful to the society? I'd like to hear the arguments against it from the law standpoint because we all already know the bible's.
I think the 18500+ people who have given up their membership in the lutheran church since last Tuesday speaks volumes as to what Finns think about the issue. According to Iltasanomat, that's almost 6 Million euros away from the church's budget as tax money. That's got to hurt! Tarja Halonen said that she thinks it's great that people discuss about the issue...I think it's awesome that I can feel the love from my fellow Finns and they think it's important that I have the same rights as they do. It might not even be about my rights per se, just the fact that the church is so old fashioned...And Päivi Räsänen does not make it easier for the church.
It's sad that in this day and age there are still people who cannot speak for themselves and who cannot make up their own mind. Her only argument is that the bible says so. Bible is over 2000 years old, the times have changed since then. The people believing in the bible have adapted to the times when it comes to electricity, cell phones, cars and other advancements. Why can't you accept us as human beings and practice the love and acceptance you preach about?
They said it's ok to be a homosexual as long as you don't act on it. You can have those feelings and still live a fulfilling live as heterosexual. WHAT??? Am I supposed to act against everything I feel? You can't help the way you are or feel. I can't act hetero any more than hetero can act gay in their own lives. It is not a choice, it's not something you do because it's in, it's fashionable! Who would wanna be gay if it was a choice when there are narrow minded people on this earth spreading their lies and disgust? It's not that simple people.
One of the people discussing the issue on Tuesday on behalf of the nay sayers said that the church has made few inquiries or researches into how it could integrate gay marriage or blessing into their program and that they just couldn't find a justification for it in the bible. And that the bible is the law and has the final say as far as how the church thinks people and it should act. And that as far as the church and it's structure is concerned, it would be very difficult to accept gay marriage and blessings because then it would open the door for other things that are not in the bible. I can understand that. I just think that it's time to move on and adapt.
Overall, I think it was great that this discussion was organized. I was on facebook the whole 2 hours commenting on people's posts, posting my own views and talking about this. I loved the fact that there were so many people on my friends list so outraged about this. All straight people. Some were more for the equal rights...some were more for against the church...some equally pissed off about both. Made me feel proud to be Finnish and have such an amazing friends. Hopefully Tuesday was a start of something beautiful to come!
btw, as much as I dislike Päivi Räsänen and what she stance for, she does have a right to her opinion. It's not cool to make threats against her or her family because of her believes, just as it's not right to make threats against gays.
See you all at my wedding! ;-) Later!
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