As the outgoing chair and longtime member of the Diversity Council I could not let the recent Supreme Court’s decision on same-sex marriage pass without a comment. I happen to agree with the ruling. I applaud the Supreme Court for their action not necessarily because of the law itself but because of their adherence to the founding principles of the United States of America.
I am proud to say that our organization - NIGP, recognizes and accepts that sexual orientation shall not be a reason to prohibit participation in the Institute or in government work, employment or other business dealings in general. We all should work to provide an environment whereby no one should be discriminated against because of whom they choose to be. I hope that none of us discriminate in that manner either in a professional or personal level but of course the latter is not what we are addressing. In our business, which is government, we are prohibited from interpreting the law in the manner in which we feel or believe. Rather we are asked to abide by what is written and obey all laws as intended. The Supreme Court of the land has acted, now we must abide.
I grew up Catholic and later in life chose a denomination that believes their members are not a denomination at all. Without any arrogance, the church believes that their religious doctrine, i.e., the Bible, is to be accepted without conjecture or interpretation. What is written should be taken literally. Now I won’t purport to be a Bible scholar but there is a section I remember well whereby Jesus speaking says - "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's. And they were amazed at Him.” - Mark 12:17. Obviously we do not pay homage to Caesar but any reasonable person can accept that Caesar is now manifested in the three branches of our government. So we are in essence to accept the law of the land.
You may or may not agree with my stance on the issues. I will respect your right to oppose me and attempt to change the law. In the same manner, I hope you will respect my right to recognize that the current law of the land is to be followed. Why? Because the supreme contemplative body in the land has ruled. It is my hope that as we continue to debate that we not forget that this is a country of law founded by men who believed that religion should not rule the land. Let’s all promote civility and reason in all our actions but especially in matters of personal beliefs.
I am proud to be in a country in which the majority of persons can entertain different points of views without resorting to violence or war.