What a pleasant surprise to find such a refreshing argument for SSM on the webiste of a fellow photographer (and fellow gay person, I assume!) Bravo! The comments that your post inspired are also fabulous. I will post a link to your site on my FB page and hope that it brings more of those dollars your way — your work is lovely!

By the way, your photos are beautiful.

Whether all agree on the details of your economic analysis or not, one point is beyond dispute: the amount of money involved is enormous. You made that very clear.

My folks and I are big West Wing fans. The scene you included is one of my personal favorites. I too would vote for Pres. Bartlet any day, if he were a real candidate.

I am a former Christian Fundamentalist/Evangelical/Born Again Christian. My involvement with that movement nearly destroyed my life. It took 17-18 years for me to undo all the damage done to me during the 3-4 years of my intense involvement with the movement during my undergraduate years. I have made many enormous sacrifices as a result of having my life sent so far off course by this colossally destructive, authoritarian, loveless, graceless, mindless, ignorant scourge on humanity. These are harsh words, and it saddens me that every one of these criticisms is well-earned. I wish to God it were not so. I could cry when I think of how this movement destroys individuals, families, and communities.

There is now a counter movement of ex-fundamentalists who are getting on with their lives and trying to heal from this devastating experience. For example, see Marlene Winell’s book, “Leaving the Fold: A Guide for Former Fundamentalists and Others Leaving Their Religion.” Bishop John Shelby Spong, one of my favorite thinkers, has written much on the disservice done to the Christian community done by extremists who would hijack the Bible with their unthinking and uninformed hyper-literal interpretation.

Michael, I commend you for taking a firm and enlightened stand on this important issue — equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation. None of us are free until all of us our free.

As for the bible thumpers; sorry I’m not feeling too tolerent today. I’d like to remind them that their capricious christian god demanded the human sacrifice of his own human child. If people want to believe in the Bible, chapter and verse, let them but keep it in the church and out of my government.

And may I please comment that religion and morals are not mutually exclusive, nor necessarily (as we see time and time again) mutually inclusive. Hate is hate, a troll is a troll, and I would be happy and proud to vote for President Bartlett, fictional or no.

I choose love and respect as my guiding morals, and I choose love and respect for my friends and family who often see very little of either. I think Jesus, Allah, Yahweh ben Yahweh, Buddha, John Lennon or the Flying Spaghetti Monster would tell me and Mr. Albany to rock on.

Pax Vobiscum
Alumnus of McGill University and Montreal Theological Seminary, BTh (for whatever that’s worth)

I am a firm believer in equality. That includes equal time. I could have easily just not approved your comments above. Normally I would not even comment, however the self righteousness of views like the ones you state above are based on incomplete and dated views of the Bible. Please take the time to review the following.

John 8:34 – A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
Romans 13:10 – Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
1 Peter 4:8 – Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
John 4:7 – Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
1 John 4:19 – We love because he first loved us.

Also please read the entire page here: http://www.otkenyer.hu/truluck/six_bible_passages.html

I would personally address the passages in Leviticus, however I could not do it so well as this: