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I am fascinated by the whole "marriage is religious" thing because, there is no state in this union that requires that a marriage be performed by a religious clergy person. In every state, you need a marriage license from the state and have to be married by someone granted the legal powers to perform a marriage ceremony. "By the power vested in me by the state of ________ I now pronounce you husband and wife". People can choose to have a religious clergy person with those powers perform that ceremony and sign that certificate but people can also choose to not have a religious clergy person perform that ceremony and sign that certificate. In our country, all of these people are equally legally married. And, by the way, that wording can be altered, if someone chooses to use that as an argument against gay marriage. It used to say "man and wife". It could just as easily say "legally married partners".
Tolerance and inclusiveness means that you try to see things with empathy for others who have different circumstances than yours. Just as sigmadiva said she cannot imagine being attracted to someone of the same gender, homosexuals cannot imagine being attracted to someone of the opposite gender. Frankly, I can't choose which men I am attracted to. I can choose whether I act on that attraction or not (if he is married, for example, I can ignore that attraction and not act on it). I just don't think it is fair or logical to ask homosexuals, as consenting adults, to ignore all of their attractions for their whole lives because it doesn't fit into someone else's religious beliefs.
In my belief system, laws should be made to prevent an infringement of rights. If gay marriage is legal, it allows more people to get married. Nobody has to marry someone of the same sex, but they can if they choose. If you don't believe in gay marriage, then you don't marry someone of the same gender. That seems pretty simple to me. It is legal to own a gun. I choose not to. I don't push for laws that ban all guns because others don't have to share my beliefs. If the law said I had to own a gun, that would be a problem. If the law said I couldn't own a gun, that would be a problem. If the law said I had to be married by a religious clergy, that would be a problem. If the law said I couldn't be married by a religious clergy, that would be a problem.
Finally, it isn't that this CEO is expressing his opinion. People do that every day. He is putting corporate funds into his opinion. If people choose to not contribute financially to organizations that fund his opinion, then so what? Consumers speak with their dollars. Those who believe as he does and want to fund those organizations will do so. Those who don't, won't. I'm thankful he has made it known so that we have the knowledge to make that decision.
I'm also thankful that some Christian religions perform gay marriages and allow gay clergy. I'm also thankful we don't have to follow every law put forth in the Bible.
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