I may be a child molester…

Yes. At least that is what the members of Concerned Women for America believe. Why? Because I support equal rights for homosexual couples. According to the culture and values section of the website of Concerned Women for America—a dubious name at best, since this group hardly represents the majority of women in the U.S.—people who support gays and lesbians in any way should not work with children:

"When people have views supporting homosexuality, they should not be involved with youth in any way, period. Because they:
· will provide inaccurate, misleading information to kids;
· may limit a student's opportunity to hear warnings about the behavior;
· may advocate or model inappropriate behavior;
· may be directly involved in the molestation of kids themselves; or
· may be in a position to allow others to do so."

With beliefs like this, it is little wonder why gay marriage is facing so much opposition. If you are told that people who just support gay rights—not people who are gay themselves, but simply support them—are either child molesters or are abettors to child molestations, then what would you think of actual gay people?
Or consider this nugget on the CWA website, a fictional account of Josh (who is confused about his sexuality):

What Happens to Josh?
"So what becomes of [Josh and those like him]? They seldom hear another viewpoint; they are seldom approached by Christian peers who will show them a different way. It's not that our Christian kids don't want to; they don't have enough information and are too intimidated to challenge the easily provoked pro-"gay" advocates.
So, Josh will probably go ahead and attend a local "gay" community group; then in high school, join the high school "GSA" ("gay"-straight alliance, the name of many homosexual clubs). He probably will pair up with an older homosexual and begin homosexual sex. His parents, anxious to be politically correct, won't object and will eventually come to accept his "lifestyle."
Josh's future probably holds a revolving door of sexual contacts, with his first visit to a clinic to be treated for a sexually transmitted disease at around age 17. Then, if he's typical, he'll be treated annually for an STD of some type. Oh, and all those middle school insecurities over appearance have been dispelled. He's turned into a drop-dead gorgeous young man, but he has no interest in the appreciative glances of young women. He's too much in demand at the "gay" bars and bathhouses.
He is already drinking heavily, smoking and doing recreational drugs. Somewhere along the line, he'll have several longer-term boyfriends, and may even move in with one or two of them. Their break-ups will happen after six months or a year, and be spectacular events punctuated with drama, screaming fights and threats of self-harm, contributing to the high rates of domestic violence cited for "gay" males.
He will go to a counselor for treatment of depression, anxiety or an eating disorder. Seeking some peace and stability, he'll join a "gay"-friendly denomination like the Metropolitan Community Church. Along the way, he may well become HIV-positive. In his 30s, he will start to have relationships with boys who are 16 and 17, just as someone did when he was a teen. He may even transmit the HIV virus to one or more of them.
Josh is likely to die early, probably before 55 and very likely in his 40s. His grandmother will cry at his funeral, knowing he would have made a great father and even grandfather. But it won't happen for him.
This was happiness? This is freedom? Why can't Josh be told the rest of the story before it's too late?"

If you read “facts” such as these, it is easy to see why Proposition 8 found the support that it did. What parent would intentionally and whole-heartedly support their gay child when they are destined for so much misery, abuse, and an early death? Or, since these same folks believe that gays are made, not born, why would you allow your child to choose such a destructive lifestyle? The CWA believes that merely supporting gay individuals creates more of “them”:

"Can people, children in this case, become homosexuals by exposure to certain ideas and behavior? In other words, can a person who would not otherwise become homosexual start the behavior, come to prefer it and form a habitual addiction?
Can a society create more homosexuals? The answer quite clearly is yes. That is how current homosexuals, in fact, came to be. There is no credible evidence for a genetic origin for homosexuality. That may come as a surprise to many people, but it's true. It's even more astonishing when one realizes how many influential groups and people now accept homosexuality as inborn for some. But when you look behind the rhetoric, you find that there is nothing but wishful thinking. For an excellent paper debunking this myth, see Culture and Family Institute's Special Report Born or Bred.
New research has revealed what many have predicted for years because of the media culture's constant promotion of homosexuality: More and more Americans, especially youth, are experimenting with same-sex sexual acts. A report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that among people surveyed in 2002, 11 percent of the females have had a "same-sex" sexual experience. This is up from 4 percent in a similar report in 1992. Among just teen and young adult females, the number was even higher-14 percent. Among males, homosexual experimentation increased to 6 percent in 2002 compared to 4.9 percent in 1992.4
Despite the incredibly well-documented destructive outcomes from homosexuality,
this unprecedented trend among young people is occurring with few parental objections.
People, especially the young, can be seduced into homosexual behavior and have their identities molded around the homosexual lifestyle through a combination of persuasion and circumstances that may include the following:
· being convinced homosexuality is acceptable;
· reading or viewing explicit homosexual pornography;
· having a close relationship with a peer who is practicing homosexuality;
· admiring an older teacher or mentor who is homosexual;
· attending homosexual social venues (a "gay" club, bar, church youth group);
· being homosexually molested;
· having parents who espouse homosexuality or engage in homosexual activism;
lacking strong ties to a church that remains faithful to the historic Christian faith, and hostility toward traditional views."

Even the church is nailed in this case, if they are not “Bible-based”. Apparently, a church cannot be both Jesus-loving and gay supporting. In fact, only a strong, faith-based environment will encourage children to abstain from the gay lifestyle:

"Strong religious faith, especially traditional Christian morality, often acts as a protective barrier to the development of homosexual desire. When children grow up trusting God as the Designer of masculinity and femininity, and if they are not sexually molested or have their innocence assaulted by other traumatic events, their feelings will be channeled normally toward heterosexual sex within marriage as an obvious and desirable goal. The truth imparted by the Holy Spirit in young believers hinders the harmful absorption of the culture's deceit about homosexuality as well as other temptations."

Until such myths, bad science, and discriminatory religious teachings are given up, our gay and lesbian friends will continue to be barred from living a full life in this country. And some people still don’t think this has anything to do with civil rights…

(Source for CWA quoted sections is http://www.cwfa.org/cfi/)

Godly Mothers are Worthy of Honor All Year Long…

That’s right. Or so says the sign in front of one of my least favorite churches in town. Godly mothers are worthy of honor—not loving atheist mothers, or supportive eco-friendly moms. Nope. There are two kinds of moms—godly, and “ungodly”.

Black and white statements like that frustrate me so. To begin, “godly” is a relative concept. A mom that I would think of as godly—say a woman who loves and supports her gay child, or who lets her child choose what religious tradition to follow, or who allows her children to develop as they see fit—would not necessarily be considered "godly" by others. But beyond that, statements like the one on that church sign paint an unrealistic image of motherhood. As one author put it, “[ideal mothers are] neo-June Cleaver corporate beauties you see in the mainstream parenting magazines” (Breeder, from the introduction). When I think of the stereotype of a “godly mother”, I think of a woman who waited to have her kids until after the wedding. She stays at home, reads her Bible and does her daily devotions. She keeps the house pristine, and always has a yummy (but healthy) snack waiting on the counter for when the kids get home. She doesn’t yell, she doesn’t cry, and lord knows she doesn’t curse. She is pretty, yet practical. She gets to all the soccer games, heads up the church play, gets the kids in bed, and still has the time and energy to have sex. Yep—the perfect mom.

Here’s what the moms we know are like: they sit in deep embarrassment as their kids throw stuff on the floor in the restaurant and show their chewed food to me (thanks Caleb—you crack me up!). They are running around with a schedule that makes me tired just to see it. They clip coupons, leave their homes in a state of constant upheaval, and have a sink of really dirty dishes. They let their laundry pile up, and they run out of essentials because they were too busy when they got off work to run over to Target. And yet, they clearly love their kids. They taxi them all over town, support them at their games and school programs, and some even find time to leave cookies and presents for me, their pet sitter.

And lets not forget the other kind of “mom”—the devoted, yet equally disheveled, pet parent. These moms are no different—pet toys scatter the floor in their homes, several pill bottles line the cabinet for the sick dog in the family, pet laundry piles up, and they too run out of essentials. We water their plants, scoop the litter boxes, and give out treats from our ‘stash’—what kind of sitters would we be if we didn’t carry treats at all times?—and bring in the newspaper that the van rolled over as it flew down the driveway before dawn.

Yep—my kind of moms. Not perfect, but devoted. What I would call “godly”.

Oh, and that picture at the top? It's of me--yet another tired, messy, overworked pet mom who also functions as a piece of furniture for one of our three cats...