Turnaround Thursday

Originally posted April 22, 2013 on The Living Affected Spirit blog
Marriage Equality Discussed on Minority Matters
Earlier this week, LA Corp Chief Operating Officer, Cornelius Mabin  was asked to participate in a round table discussion on AETN's Minority Matters talk show hosted by Sylvester Smith.
The topic was concerning the marriage equality question with Rev. Wendell Griffin of New Millennium Church and myself representing the favorable position with
Family Council President and lobbyist, Jerry Cox and Rev. Aaron Agnew of the Word of Outreach Christan Center who are opposed to the measure.

Now let me be clear, I'm not exactly sure if I was the best choice to discuss the matter but nevertheless I got the opportunity to at least try to share my concept of the issue. The week prior to the appearance I was a bit torn as to what will I say and what will they say that I may need to have a response to. Although I had done media appearance previously, I wasn't spooked about that aspect but rather being prepared to discuss marriage equality as a single issues as opposed to my view that as a people we are not "single silo" dedicated bur rather a wide berth of issues ranging from economic parity to food justice.

Yet marriage equality has become the "hot button" topic that is being discussed all over the place. As usual and as I had suspected, Mr. Cox and Agnew took positions rooted in their evangelical background. Especially the "slippery slope" tactic that marriage equality will cause marriage to suddenly go into decline. Then Agnew rolled out the tale of "Sodom and Gomorrah" which is a favorite diatribe of those whom oppose anything LGBTQ. Rev. Griffin cited that religion has been used as a means to deride everything from Galileo to marginalizing communities.

My distinct points were that if we are a nation that chides other nations on their human rights abuses and the lack of civil rights being extended then how can we as a country continue to deny a segment of its citizens the fundamental right to choose who they love and how that love is to be celebrated. Cox retorted that we are tyring to "redefined marriage," of which I don't agree. Marriage for many years has been redefined by heterosexuals in many ways including those who are not formally "married" with no papers or ceremony. Ultimately everyone will be awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court in its ruling concerning DOMA ( Defense of Marriage Act) and California's Prop 8 which was recognized the one man/ one women recognition.

Furthermore, there are long distance marriages, loveless marriages, and those who have had multiple marriages. Of course there was no way to sum this complex issue up in about 27 minutes. However, I felt good to at least have had the chance to chime in on the discussion while keeping a positive image in the public eye. To help further the discussion and your awareness of the issue I'm posting some key points for your consideration. If you got observations, comments or viewpoints to share, let's hear them!!

And our video pick for the week...first aired in December 2014