Religion, Politics, and Same-Sex Marriage

Minnesota currently faces a proposed change to its Constitution that would prohibit the legalization or recognition of marriage for same-sex couples. The foundation for the support for this amendment comes from various religious groups in spite of the fact that many who oppose the amendment are also people of faith. The disconnect between these two groups and the use of the Constitution as the battle ground illustrates why religion has no place in politics.

In the United States, the foundation of our political lives are our federal and state Constitutions. No federal or state law may violate the United States Constitution, and no state law may violate the state Constitution of that state. The proposed amendment would add the following:

Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota.

Like all language, the language of the Constitution is subject to interpretation and may be interpreted differently by different individuals. The above language may seem crystal clear, but it leaves open a number of questions, including:

• Can the state eliminate marriage in MN and create a new kind of union available to all?
• What is it to “recognize” a marriage?
• Is it illegal for my business to recognize the marriage of a same-sex couple married in a state where it’s legal?

I’m not trying to launch an argument about the meaning of this amendment, but instead to illustrate how any such arguments might be resolved. One of the beauties of the United States system is that we have an entity to serve as the arbiter of what the language in our Constitutions and laws means. It’s the judicial branch with the Supreme Courts serving as the ultimate authority. When we disagree about what the Constitution means on any subject, we bring it to the courts and they tell us. Once it gets to the Supreme Court, that decision is final unless we amend the Constitution to change the meaning.

Religion, on the other hand, has no such unquestioned universal authority. When people disagree about the Bible as they do with the issue of same-sex marriage, who is the interpreter?

The idea that the Bible is the “word of God” is often the foundation of this problem. The reality is that the Bible was written in human language by human beings and translated many times over many centuries by many humans. Many of these humans held very human, very political agendas when perform their translations. Compare any two Bibles, and their words in English are often materially different. Humans are imperfect. Human language is imperfect. Any attempt by humans to communicate the word of God will be inherently imperfect. In fact, any attempt by humans to understand the word of God will be inherently imperfect.

So who interprets the Bible for society? The United States Constitution was born of a world waging constant wars in Europe over different interpretations of the Bible. There can be no interpreter of the Bible or any other religious document for society, only for members of that religion. The Pope is the final authority of the Bible for Catholics. Non-Catholics would be very, very wary of accepting Papal authority of interpreting the Bible. Similarly, most people of Western faiths would be wary of a secular state interpreting the Bible as the Communist Party does in China.

The Bible can have no single authority to which we can appeal for interpretation and, as a result, cannot form the basis of our Constitution and our laws. It has no place in our politics.

The LA Riots as They Happened: 4/30/1992

So far, over 300 fires to buildings have been set, and more than 1700 fire incidents so far reported. All of Los Angeles is a war zone, even the valley. We have a dawn to dusk curfew set for tonight, and there has been talk of martial law. Riots have been reported in North Hollywood and Panorama City, both just blocks from here. I heard that fire has been set to the mall in Panorama City, but I have heard no confirmation of it. There were also reports of rioting two blocks from here. Buildings in Hollywood and West Los Angeles are burning. The company I work for, the Wherehouse, has so far lost 3 stores that have been burnt to the ground. How can hundreds of people be running around this city unchecked destroying everything in their paths? The scene is so incomprehensible. It is like a hurricane, but even eerier. It is like we are waiting for the world to end.

I just went outside. It is like someone dropped a neutron bomb on the city (note: notice how I didn’t use contractions then, even in an informal setting like a journal? very odd!). No cars, no people. The city around here is dead.

Earlier today, I went to the Wherehouse to check on the situation there. We were getting reports of riots in the area, so we shut down the store at 4:00pm. Chitra and Rich (note: two of my co-workers at the Wherehouse) ended up coming over for a sort of war slumber party. While we were sitting around talking at about seven, we smelled smoke. Thick smoke. We still smell it, but the glow to the event we saw earlier has disappeared. The smoke is still causing me to cough.

The police have come by, saying on their loudspeakers that everyone should get inside and stay inside.
We have had reports that the 7-11 store one block away has been sacked and looted. On the news, we see a place in Panorama City burning to the ground.

The LA Riots as They Happened: 4/29/1992

Note: The following entry comes from a journal I kept of the Los Angeles Riots that occurred from April 29, 1992 until May 3, 1992. The words are actual words from when I was 23 years old and living in Van Nuys, CA. I have also packaged the whole thing into tweets under the Twitter handle @GR_LARiots.


Does civil war begin today? As I wrote this (note: how goofy of me to use the past tense in a journal entry?), the news just reported another earthquake in Hot Springs, 3.4. Late last week there was a 6.0 earthquake in Northern California with several strong aftershocks. This is weird.

Anyway, Los Angeles is beginning to feel more and more like a war zone.

Just a few hours...

Within the last 20 minutes, we have had 2 riots break out (violent), an earthquake, and a police helicopter making an emergency landing on TV.

Back to where I was...

Just a few hours ago, the verdicts in the Rodney King beating trial were given. They were not guilty. In spite of the video. In spite of the testimony of the officer who wrote the book on the use of force. The officers who beat Rodney King were found not guilty. The only thing I can say is that the prosecution did not know what it was doing. The trial was fair, but the officers were guilty. I know that sounds contradictory, but there was nothing fishy about the trial except maybe the change of venue from Los Angeles to Simi Valley. But the video speaks for itself. There is no explanation those officers can give for their actions. They used excessive force without reason.

So then the trouble began...

Since my telephone was disconnected, I have had to go to pay phones to call Kim. So today, like other days...

They are stopping cars, pulling people out, and beating them.

...I went to a pay phone (note: I think this was at a store somewhere on Oxnard, perhaps Woodman and Oxnard?) to call her. While I was talking to her, a black man, about my age, yelled at me, “Homeboy, get off the phone.” He started yelling things at me then he hung up the phone. After that, he began pushing me, getting in my face, and threatening to beat the hell out of me. He was yelling racial slurs at me among other things. He clearly wanted me to start something. But I only argued with him, calling him a racist. I also said that he was acting like a member of the KKK. One of his friends across the street was throwing rocks at me. But they left after 10 minutes without any violence. But they wanted an excuse, I just did not give it to them (note: this event was occurring at the same time as the Reginald Denny beating in South Central Los Angeles).

All at the same time, the black people on the street would whisper to other complete strangers who were also black about something. I finally heard one of them mention some plans for some gathering. The black man on the phone next to me was saying something similar (note: interestingly, I don’t remember the events of this paragraph, even after reading it again 20 years later).

But I would like to mention  that of all the black people around me during this 1/2 hour to 1 hour period, only two were doing anything wrong. Those two, of course, harrassed me.

When I got back to my room, I turned on the television set to find reports of violence breaking out in at least two places. Automatic gunfire (sporadic) everywhere. People pulling other people out of cars and beating them. We have seen at least five fires set. Looting. And it has just begun. This is all just 3 hours after the verdict was announced.

This is very sad. Everyone, not just black people, should be outraged by this verdict. But at the same time, nothing wrong has been done except what those officers did. There was no cover-up. No conspiracy. No attempt to hide the truth. I simply think it was a combination of poor prosecution mixed with the extended jury deliberations. Mix that with a bit of the underlying prejudice in one or two jurors. But there was no oppression or blatant racism.

But South Central Los Angeles has been a war zone. It did not just become one today.

The previous stuff was written at 7:00pm. It is now 8:30pm. Blocks of South Central Los Angeles are burning. Parker Center, Los Angeles Police Department headquarters, is being stormed by protesters. I have been hearing sirens and helicopters around here all night (note: keep in mind, again, that at this time I lived in Van Nuys, many worlds and miles away from South Central Los Angeles).

9:30 - A fleet of helicopters and police cars just went racing by here. I promised Kim and my mom that  I would lock the door and stay inside, so I do not know what is going on. Sirens sounding everywhere. Gunshots at Foothill station. Blocks and blocks of South Central are on fire.

11:30 Mayor Tom Bradly and Governor Pete Wilson have declared a state of emergency for the city of Los Angeles. Over 50 major fires have been reported all over the city. Riots all over South Central, riots in downtown, and in Pacoima. 2 people so far have died. A fire fighter is currently at the hospital being treated for a gunshot wound to the face. The National guard is being called in to be deployed in Los Angeles. A woman nurse in one hospital emergency room said that the activity is worse than any she experienced during her duty in the Gulf War.

Personally, I have been staying inside like I promised. Every few minutes, though, I hear either a helicopter or a bunch of police cars go by. But so far I have heard nothing dangerous going on around here.

It is important to note that all of this rioting is actually being done by very few people. Most of them seem to be people who are just using the verdict as an excuse to do violence. Everyone is angry, and in fact, most community leaders have been encouraging peaceful expression of this anger. But the gang members, criminals, and general thugs just figure that this gives them some sort of permission to go all out with their destructive behavior. None of this is an honest reaction of any section of the community to the verdict.

This is not Civil War.