New York State Senate Okays Same-Sex Marriage: My Take

You've probably heard the news by now: New York State's Senate says it's legal for homosexuals to get 'married.' The bishops of New York State made a statement about that. I put the statement - not what I heard a reporter say someone felt about the statement - at the end of this post.¹

I'm a practicing Catholic, which may not mean what you think it does.

Do I:

• Think New York State's Senate made a good decision?
  • No
• Think it's okay for people to marry members of the same sex?
  • No
• Hate homosexuals?
  • No
    • I'm not allowed to hate
      • Homosexuals
      • Politicians
      • New Yorkers
      • Lawyers
      • Men
      • Women
      • Anybody (December 9, 2010)
• Think marriage is important?
  • Yes
• Think Senators can decide what human nature is?
  • Yes
  • Senators can decide anything they want
    • But there are some things not even Senators can do

Does all this mean that I think folks who don't agree with me on every point are damned to everlasting fire, that God is on my side (not the other way around), and that the only folks in Heaven look, talk, and act just like me? No. I've been over that before. (including June 17, 2011)

Related posts:

• "California's Proposition 8: Here We Go Again"
  (June 13, 2011)
• "Minnesota's Archbishop, Marriage, and Getting a Grip"
  (June 10, 2011)
• "Sex Isn't a Product for Consumption?"
  (June 8, 2011)
• "Why State Definitions of Marriage Matter to This Catholic"
  (June 23, 2010)
• "The Catholic Church and Homosexuals: Harsh and Soft, Judgmental and Understanding"
  (March 13, 2009)

In the news:

• "New York 6th state to legalize gay marriage"
  CBS News (June 25, 2011)

---

¹ Statement of the Bishops of New York State on SSM:

"Statement of the Bishops of New York State on SSM

"June 24, 2011

"The following is a statement from Archbishop Timothy Dolan and the bishops of New York State:

"The passage by the Legislature of a bill to alter radically and forever humanity's historic understanding of marriage leaves us deeply disappointed and troubled.

"We strongly uphold the Catholic Church's clear teaching that we always treat our homosexual brothers and sisters with respect, dignity and love. But we just as strongly affirm that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in a lifelong, loving union that is open to children, ordered for the good of those children and the spouses themselves. This definition cannot change, though we realize that our beliefs about the nature of marriage will continue to be ridiculed, and that some will even now attempt to enact government sanctions against churches and religious organizations that preach these timeless truths.

"We worry that both marriage and the family will be undermined by this tragic presumption of government in passing this legislation that attempts to redefine these cornerstones of civilization.

"Our society must regain what it appears to have lost – a true understanding of the meaning and the place of marriage, as revealed by God, grounded in nature, and respected by America's foundational principles.'

"+Timothy M. Dolan

"Archbishop of New York

"+Howard J. Hubbard

"Bishop of Albany

"+Nicholas DiMarzio

"Bishop of Brooklyn

"+Edward U. Kmiec

"Bishop of Buffalo

"+Terry R. LaValley

"Bishop of Ogdensburg

"+Matthew H. Clark

"Bishop of Rochester

"+William F. Murphy

"Bishop of Rockville Centre

"+Robert J. Cunningham

"Bishop of Syracuse"
(press release, Archdiocese of New York (June 25, 2011))