By Serena Bonnette

Let me start out by saying that I am a Catholic woman, who is very strong in her faith. Yet I am also liberal in my beliefs concerning many social discussions. I know, we are very few and far between and sometimes I honestly feel like I am the only one out there, especially here, in North Louisiana.

One of the long-held debates between liberal and conservatives is gay rights. And as you probably know, the Catholic Church is against gay rights because it is believed to be a sin to act upon homosexual attraction. I, although very Catholic, strongly disagree.

Mainly because of the scientific evidence that being gay is not a choice and that people should be able to express the way they feel while also having a relationship with the God who created them and made them in His image.

Ultimately, I 100% support gay rights. Love simply is love. In the 10 Commandments, God said to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

The condemning of LGBTQ people and their well-deserved rights goes against the Bible and the original 10 Commandments that the Christian church bases its beliefs on. And since the church wants to make anything and everything a sin, then going against what God Himself said technically qualifies as a sin.

So here the main question stands—should the church support gay rights? Short answer: yes. The church needs to realize that acting on a genetic trait is not a sin, and neither should gay rights, or really anyone’s rights, be a sin.

The progression of ideology due to educational advancements in the world today shows that the church needs to catch up with the times. The contradiction makes people run away from the Christian faith.

But, if we as Christians believe in a God who loves everyone, then the Christian church should be able to accept anyone and everyone from all backgrounds of life and love them as they love themselves.

Photo by Cassandra Phillips.