Are Gay Rights Really Civil Rights?

I've been following the whole Prop 8 backlash on the news and radio, and have been struck by the sheer illogicality and ignorance being propounded by the opponents of Prop 8.

Of several arguments that I have an issue with, one that popped out to me as self-evidently wrong is the hyperbolic argument linking "Gay Rights" to the overall Civil Rights Movement begun in the '60s.

It's simply an claim that makes no sense and does not correspond with history. At the heart of the Civil Rights Movement was a desire to see all men and women treated equally under the law and by fellow Americans.

While the 19th century was highlighted by the abolition of slavery, the 20th century by the de-segregation of schools, sports and public establishments and the widespread actualization of the equal treatment of each person by the government and (progressively) society as a whole.

Now, the 21st century has an early landmark with Barack Obama as our President-Elect, which is an important marker for civil rights both for those of us who didn't vote for him and for those of us who did.

As for the issue of Civil Rights as it pertains to "Gay Rights", my argument is that is simply does not. That is, the "right" of Gays to marry is both non-existent and non-essential to their equal treatment under the law, therefore striking an essential distinction between "Gay Rights" and Civil Rights.

If that doesn't clarify the my point, maybe these questions will:

Q. When was the last time you saw a gay person forced to the back of a city bus?

Q. When was the last time you saw police spraying down a group of gay protesters with a fire hose in a city square?

Q. When was the last time you saw a gay church building burnt down with little girls inside?

The question is about the definition of marriage, not basic human rights, as was the main point of contention in the Civil Rights movement. For the people of a State (such as California, Florida, Arizona, etc.) to define marriage as valid only between one man and one woman is "not in the same ballpark--not in the same league--not even in the same game" as Civil Rights or discrimination, to paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson grossly out of context.

Further, if the validity of gay marriage must be recognized by the state, then what about polygamy?

That is, if we can't be expected to "discriminate" against two people of the same gender who seek marriage, then how can we possibly discriminate against honest, hard-working, kind people who want to marry more than one person at a time?

I'm not saying that we should be scornful or hateful of Gays and Lesbians--rather, we need to take the opposite stance of standing for truth in a loving, gracious way.

After all, that's how Jesus came from the Father "full of grace and truth"--not that he sacrficed truth for grace, but that he was and is full of both.

These people have wrong-headed ideas about not just marriage but also life, God and truth, but so did we until the love of God was shed abroad in our hearts. Let's be about pointing all people to Jesus, who is our only hope.

I pray that He would break my heart more and more for the lost and that He'd be working the miracle of His grace all around us.

"And from his fullness we received, grace upon grace". (Jn. 1:16)