Catholic Vote has created a video, "Not Alone," in opposition to last week's Supreme Court ruling granting same-sex couples the right to marry. On their website, they tell us that the video is about "6 courageous young people" who want to "tell the world" that they are not afraid to express their views against same-sex marriage. This video is offensive. Here's why.
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Catholic Vote has created a video, "Not Alone," in opposition to last week's Supreme Court ruling granting same-sex couples the right to marry. On their website, they tell us that the video is about "6 courageous young people" who want to "tell the world" that they are not afraid to express their views against same-sex marriage.

This video is offensive. Here's why:

  • Nothing has changed for you. Nothing has been taken away from you. You still have the right to be "traditionally" married. You still have a right to your opinion. You still have the right to worship how you want. You have the right to preach against homosexuality. You have the right to teach your children that same-sex marriage is not in your God's plan. You had all these rights before the Supreme Court ruling, and you still have them after.

  • You are not a victim. Appropriating the language of victimhood is not the same as being a victim. Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide as their straight peers. I doubt the "courageous young people" in the Catholic Vote video are considering killing themselves because they are "oppressed" for their views against same-sex marriage.
  • You are most assuredly not alone. You are not part of an oppressed minority. You are not marginalized. There are 1.2 billion Catholics worldwide.
  • Your claims of loving gay people are hollow. If you truly cared about your gay friends, you would never compare your fake oppression to their genuine suffering and persecution.
  • No one is stopping you from maintaining your opinions. Your views may not be as popular as they once were, but that does not mean that you have to change. It would be similar to me not liking Beyoncé. I might choose to keep that opinion to myself in certain company. It may not win me any friends, because, let's face it, just about everyone likes Beyoncé. But no one is forcing me to like Beyoncé. No one is forcing me to listen to her singing. No one is forcing me to go to her concerts, watch her videos, or buy her music. My dislike of Beyoncé does not make me a victim, just unpopular.
  • Your opinion is a choice. Being gay is innate. Your video is cleverly edited to make it appear as if you are "coming out." But when someone in the LGBT community comes out, a hidden birth trait is being revealed. Your "coming out" stories are not true confessionals. They are merely expressions of opinions derived from choice.
  • Your views are protected. In some areas of the United States, discrimination against the LGBT community is legal. A gay man might lose his job for being gay. A lesbian might be kicked out of her apartment for being lesbian. No Catholic is being denied employment or housing for being Catholic.
  • You live in a country of diversity. Gay people exist and now can marry. You have to live alongside them. You do not have to approve of them. The Catholic Church opposes divorce and, I imagine, you live alongside divorced people without any problems whatsoever. (And -- gasp! -- some of you may be divorced!)
  • "Not Alone" directly correlates with Justice Alito's dissenting opinion in the Obergefell v. Hodges decision:

    I assume that those who cling to old beliefs will be able to whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, but if they repeat those views in public, they will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and schools. By imposing its own views on the entire country, the majority facilitates the marginalization of the many Americans who have traditional ideas.

    Yes, it is harsh being labeled a bigot. But you brought that on yourself.

    It is much more difficult, and potentially dangerous, to be labelled a faggot.

    (Oh, by the way, the "I don't like Beyoncé" argument was rhetorical. She's fabulous! C'mon! Have you seen her "7/11 Pride" video?)

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