Senator Jim Williamson and Gay Marriage

At Victory Christian Church in Tulsa this morning the pastor, Rev. Billy Joe Daugherty, gave the floor to State Senator Jim Williamson to ask the 1,000+ congregation to show up Tuesday at the State Capitol for an anti-gay marriage rally. Williamson explained that in reaction to the national debate over allowing gay marriage he had introduced a bill to amend the Oklahoma Constitution to specify that marriage be allowed only between a man and a woman. He went on to complain that his bill had been placed in a committee headed by a Democrat who had stated that "anyone against gay marriage was a bigot". Williamson further assured the Victory congregation that "all the Republicans he is in charge of had signed on as sponsors of the anti-gay marriage bill". He also asked for prayers for his family as they had "come under attack" as a result of his stand on the issue. Williamson said Senator Scott Pruitt was also a leader in the anti-gay marriage effort.

Pastor Billy Joe then seconded Williamson's message and reminded the congregation that Williamson was a member of Victory. The Pastor explained that if we lift the restrictions on marriage that have been in place for hundreds of years we would be signaling that such behavior (same-sex marriage) was OK. "We need to obey God's instructions on this," said Pastor Daugherty.

Besides wondering how churches like Victory can maintain a tax-free status while blatantly lobbying for certain legislation I also disagreed with the Pastor and the Senator. I can't imagine how a man can be attracted to a man (the thought makes me sick) or a woman to a woman but I recognize it happens among a small percentage of any animal population. I also believe it is their right to do as they please and gay marriage is their right. Their right to live fulfilling lives while doing no harm to others trumps the yuck factor others feel.

I see the desire of those like Senator Williamson as extreme hypocrisy. I know Senator Williamson well enough to know that he is against (quite admirably) excessive government control of citizen's lives. If government tries to involve itself too deeply in the lives of businesses Senator Williamson is among the first to jump in to stop such intrusiveness. So why does he and the like-minded feel compelled to control the lovelife of anyone?