This is Me Angry and Confused at the Supreme Court

Dear NSA,
This is what I want from the Fed regarding marriage laws, definitions, benefits, taxes, inheritances, and so forth. They can eat my shorts!

I don't want anyone trying to legally force on me what they think marriage means. I have a moral definition that neither the Fed, nor any of the liberal left has succeeded at changing!

That marriage is between any two consenting adults of any sexual orientation, is an extraordinary claim, and extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence; evidence that the LGBT community and their supporters have not provided!

I want the Fed out of my bedroom, out of my marriage, out of my bank account and health and life insurance, and out of my inheritance rights.

I want the liberal whiners to learn proper, respectable debate and to start making logical claims as to why marriage laws and definitions must change.

Proselyting a new definition of marriage by legislation and the Supreme Court will not gain my respect, will not change my mind or heart, and may even shorten my tolerance.

As a whole, I don't feel hate in my heart for the LGBTs of this country, but if that's what they are trying to inspire, they are getting close.

There, I've written something angry about the subject. Maybe soon I'll write something more reasoned and gentle.

Why I Married Aaron

To be honest, I had fallen in love with several other men. In fact, I had loved one or two others with a greater intensity than I felt for Aaron at the time (which, by the way, today I love him 100 times more than any other man... love does grow). However, I had turned done several proposals because I knew that as much as I loved these others I knew we would be at each others throats with in a short while.

I married Aaron because he was/is:
Morally Worthy (moral worth always tops the list)
Loyal
God fearing
Loves children
Comes from a similar family and personal background
Is of the same faith
Straight (an absolute neccesity in a heterosexual relationship)
Goes to church and encourages me to do so
Works hard
Sees the world the same way I do
And yes, I loved him, and still do

I actually sat down and wrote two lists, one filled with reasons why I should marry him, and one filled with reasons why I should not marry him. The reasons why won by a very narrow margin. I kneeled down anyway to pray if it was right for me to marry Aaron. The Lord answered me that He wasn't going to choose for me whom I should marry. So I responded, "Oh Lord, stop me if I'm wrong".

He didn't stop me. Still hasn't said a word against our marriage, so I must have done the right thing. In any case I've been very happy with my choice.

Life Chosen

My husband and I, before we married, decided that after we were married we would have children. We chose life... of course we also chose responsibility. You know that wonderful thing people do that produces children... yeah, that. Sex is too sacred and special for having outside of marriage.

Anyway, our first son was wanted and welcomed. Our daughter was wanted and welcomed. Our second son was wanted and welcomed. These children are our treasures and we can not even think of what our life would be without them.

This is not the most eventful or sensational story, but lately there is too much in the way of ugly stories. It would be beneficial to let the world know there is beauty, responsibility, and happiness.

A family portrait. Where am I? Taking the picture, of course!

Whose business is it?

For those of you conservatives who think marriage is no one's business, you are wrong. This is one of the deciding issues of our day. The 2nd Amendment might be overruled, but it can be brought back. Bad policies and bad laws can be defunded and thrown out, and the originators removed from office. We have laws and systems to reverse nearly every bad policy we know of, except same sex marriage.

Once the bridge of same sex marriage is crossed, there will be no going back and its proponents will push and push until the definition of marriage and family is so broad and inclusive that it means virtually nothing in the court of law.

Image by Donald Nicholson

Our government, as it stands, places high value on families and endorses marriage because of the ability of married partners to produce and rear future generations. Same sex couples cannot reproduce. They can only adopt or artificially inseminate. What's more, it's no secret that same homosexuals have higher than average rates of depression and suicide, and higher incidences of drug and alcohol abuse; not to mention the lack of both male and female role models that children need for healthy emotional development  What sane person can claim these environments as good for children?

Let's talk sex, disease, and money... some rather taboo talking points in the debate, but ones that need to be addressed. Marriage implies monogamy (sex with only one partner). I don't know about lesbians, but I do know that as a rule, gay men are not monogamous. That's why AIDS runs rampant in the gay community. If they are given marriage as a right and start asking for health insurance, that industry is going to be hesitant to give insurance at an affordable rate. So guess what, married gay unions are going to be charged a higher premium. You can imagine the whining that will bring, so what happens? To be fair, insurance on all married families will increase. Now more people will be either out of work (what employer wants to hire and insure an expensive married person), out of cash, or out of private insurance and on public welfare, therefore everyone will be paying more in taxes to support the health of married couples.

Who now thinks gay marriage is no one's business?

Not convinced? Here's some further reading:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1082190/posts

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/homosexuality/ho0013.html

http://www.lds.org/ensign/1995/11/the-family-a-proclamation-to-the-world?lang=eng

I will not be able to stand before God at the last day if I do not defend the most important and fundamental unit of society. So far God has not condoned same sex marriage, in fact has condemned any sexual relationships outside of legal marriage between husband and wife. What else can I do, but make my position clear? I am on the LORD's side. What side are you on?

2006. Oh, what a year!

Aaron and I were planning our wedding an reception. I am not a crazy self absorbed bride. As a matter of fact, unlike a number of other girls, I gave no thought to my wedding reception. I was pretty close to not having one at all, but seeing as I have to deal with in-laws now, it would probably not bode well for in the family politics for me to be a hermit.

Aaron's step-mom, Julie, loved to plan parties and had connections. She could be a hard core, strict disciplinarian, and someone not to be trifled with. Be she was artistic and loved a party. I nearly went crazy picking out colors (she only needed two) and an over-all scheme. For someone as vague short of party imagination as I, she did exceptionally well.

My mom wanted to make my wedding gown. At first she had me sit down and look through pictures of wedding dresses online. It was torture, but I got some ideas of what I wanted. Then she made me draw a picture of approximately what I wanted. Over the course of time the dress evolved in concept until Mom decided it was time to start building it. It's a good thing I like Jo-Ann Fabrics because we spent a good amount of time there. Then there was the practical planning, where Mom wrapped me up in bits of muslin, and pinned them together on my body. Having sharp little needles so close to my skin made me nervous (I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to needles and things piercing my skin).

It took a number of fittings and planning and a few idea changes, but Mom showed me her work when it was almost finished. That day I was over tired and overwhelmed and when I first saw her work, I turned pale, swallowed a sob, and asked to take a nap. I thought the gown was hideous in that moment, but I also knew I hadn't slept a night through in a week, so I went upstairs and slept for a while. I don't know how long of a nap I took, but I felt better. When I came downstairs and there it was; the most beautiful, perfect wedding gown I had ever laid eyes on. It took my breath away. I couldn't believe it was the same dress I saw not 2 hours ago. No on had touched it or changed it in any way. The only change was my perception.

There was a bridal shower that Julie and her sisters threw and it was fun. They decorated in sunflowers, my favorite, and we played a few games. There were gifts. It surprised me because I had never seen so many in one place in my life. Mostly it was kitchen gadgets and useful things around the house that I could use.

Come to think about I had subjected myself to two or three gift registries. It was painful and I didn't think anyone would actually look, but there you go. People really do look at things like that. I guess that's how people knew what I wanted.

Aaron and I were married June 16, 2006 at the Detroit temple. It was a small, private ceremony (which suited me) and only a few friends and family members were present. Aaron's brothers of course pranked our car, but nothing damaging or embarrassing. And after some pictures and congratulations, we left for the hotel for the evening! Ha! No way I was going to have the reception right after the ceremony. Aaron was mine for the night. Our highly romantic first meal as husband and wife was Burger King take out. Woohoo!

The next evening was our reception, which was beautiful. We exchanged rings, did some dancing, and Aaron was a gentleman with the cake and kindly refrained from smearing my face with it. My favorite part of the reception came at the end when Tom, our DJ, played "Another One Bites the Dust", by Queen. We went and spent another night in a hotel, went to church with family the next day, then left for our honeymoon at a cottage up north, courtesy of the Barncard family.

After we got back, we lived a couple months with Aaron's mother, t
hen found our first apartment. And lived quite happily together.

The Year 2005

Important stuff:

In January I started taking college classes. I studied everything that struck my interest: Sociology, American History, Political Science, and taekwondo. I had fun.

In June I moved back the the Living Center Apartments. As I was filling out the paper work there was a question of roommate preference. If you had a friend living there, you could request that friend as a roommate. I couldn't think of anyone I really specifically wanted as a roommate, so I left that part blank. I got assigned as Jen Smith's roommate, who had a friend that always was hanging around. His name was Aaron Hancock and we hadn't spoken in ten years despite the fact we went to the same dances, on the same youth trips, had many mutual friends, and our families knew each other; but we knew each other's siblings and didn't get along. Se la vie. At least I found another job and wouldn't be forced to hang around with Aaron Hancock.

By the end of summer I managed to get fired from that job, but since I had enough money put away for classes and to support myself for
several months on a careful budget, I wasn't too worried about finding a job real fast. However, now that I didn't have anywhere to go after classes, I had to deal with Jen's friend.

In a couple weeks I learned that he wasn't so bad. In fact I learned to like his company.

One Sunday evening Aaron announced that he was going to join the Air Force, and it bothered me. Friends don't let friends join the Air Force (my parents met in the Air Force, therefore membership in such must be a bad omen); but then I wondered why I even cared. He was a Hancock, and they are trouble...

"Oh my gosh", I thought to myself, almost out loud. "I think I like him... Now what?... I must undermine this ridiculous desire to join the Air Force... I must flirt with him"

That night I asked him to join me for a walk. He declined and I thought I did something wrong. On Monday I consulted a book on how to flirt (can you believe people write stuff like that?). On Tuesday I went to work. When walking and on passing Aaron, I gave him the best, sweetest, most inviting "Hi" that I could muster. Once again I thought to effort was clumsy at best, but Aaron tells me it got his attention.

On Wednesday I attended a church history class Aaron happened to be in. I didn't have my scriptures with me, so I sat next to Aaron and shared his. We didn't say a word the whole time, but by the end we were holding hands.

Thursday night Aaron knocked on my front door, which was unusual, as he typically followed Jen through the back. The conversation we had went approximately as follows:

Aaron: Hi.

Myself: Hi.

Aaron: I take it you like me.

("Arrogant Hancock," I thought silently, "I can play at this too")

Myself: I take it you like me

(He shakes his head)

Aaron: Does this mean we should go on dates and walks and stuff?

Myself: That's a good idea, if you are asking.

It was a good idea, and we did go on dates and walks and stuff. In November we decided that marriage was the right direction to go and we got engaged.

As written, this story looks simplistic and short on romance, but courtship doesn't need to be complicated or adventurous. Just honest. Either you do love each other and can agree on the important things, or you don't and you can't respectively. We did and could.

lifted from: this website