A Christian teen speaks up for marriage
By Julie
"I am religious, and all of my family uses the ‘[the] Bible says it’s wrong’ excuse to justify a ban on same-sex marriage. I hurt inside for many months until I had an opportunity to do a persuasive speech for an English class at my high school. We could choose any topic we wanted to that is a social issue. So I decided I would argue that the Bible does not condemn same-sex marriage. Much to my family's strange looks, I started researching same-sex marriage more than I ever had before and looked at the Bible more closely.
"After two weeks of work and countless trips to the library, I was finished with a seven-minute speech saying the I believe the Bible does not condemn same-sex marriage. I gave my speech to the class the next day and my mom came to sit in on it. As I persuaded each student and our teacher to examine the Bible and interpret it the way they wanted to, not the way they've been told, I saw my mother in the back of the room smiling. (I go to public school, so any speech about the Bible is shocking.) I got a clap, and I probably offended some students, but the best thing I got out of my speech was my mom's smile.
"We went out for ice cream that day after school and she told me she liked my speech and that I got her to think twice about the Bible. She now does not believe the Bible speaks against gay marriage. With just one little English speech for school, I changed her from believing the Bible condemned same-sex marriages to embracing difference. So now hopefully when I come out, she can embrace me the same way -- I know she will. And maybe with the next speech I do, I can persuade my dad!"
Julie, Annapolis, Md.
April 20, 2004
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