I guess I'm liberal

Recently someone called me "very liberal" on my stance that homosexuals should be allowed to get married (seriously people, how is it going to hurt you?). Liberal? Really? That's rather sad. We may be a nation with a majority of Christians, but that does not mean that our laws should be based explicitly from the Bible. You don't complain when Atheists are forced into a religious ritual like marriage in order to get normal benefits like everyone else. You don't complain about Jewish weddings, or Mormon, or Muslims. They all have equal rights here, even if you disagree with their personal beliefs. But someone who is stuck living a life that makes them feel like a social degenerate already can be denied those equal rights? And people feel that judging homosexuals, telling them that they are abominations to God, and denying them the right to live happily without having ever done anything to actively hurt other people is their Christian duty. What happened to "Judge not lest ye be judged yourself...?" Simply put, marriage is not exclusively Christian.

I'm sick of this being a religious issue. I don't like the fact that the state has a hand in religion to start with. Don't tell me what your God wants me to do and how I'm wrong for not following your interpretation of His word. Unless you can come back from the dead with a certified and notarized letter from the Creator himself stating that that is His true opinion, step off! Seriously, you want to change the laws to exclude gays from marriage just because you think it's icky? Are you afraid that when they get married they'll run around in the middle of the night killing babies and trampling your flower garden or something?

So I replied, "Yes. I guess I am. I believe women should be able to vote, and men should not be slaves. Royalty should not be the only landowners, and you must provide compelling physical evidence before burning a witch that she is not only a witch, but an evil one (most compellingly by the ability to weigh equal to a duck). I believe in a democratic society, and separation of church and state. Once upon a time, these were all very liberal ideas, and many people have died defending them. So if that is the bar, I am a liberal, so that in the future my ideals might someday seem conservative."*

Liberal? Really? For believing in equal rights for all humans regardless of color, creed, religion or ability to color-coordinate pillows and curtains? I thought we were past that.

*Okay, so I paraphrased. I did actually mention the first two points, though.