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Topic: Gay rights

I decided this topic demands its own post. Since I live in Finland, I'm only going to make comments on our current situation, not the global one.

Since I am off sick today, I've had time to catch up on the latest news, particularly the uproar caused by the Homoilta (Gay Night) on YLE. For those who aren't aware, Homoilta was a debate between those for and against gay marriage in Finland, and as a result of that debate about 18 000 people have resigned from the church. Heck, I would too if I hadn't done that 2 years ago. Anyway, that figure is larger than all the people that resigned during the whole of last year. In 6 days. Wow.
This makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The people will not just stand by and watch as MPs and legislators talk crap with their mouths. During the debate they showed some survey results on how the MPs feel about gay marriage, and how the people feel about it. 54% of the MPs how answered were against gay marriage, 46% were for it. 54% of the people who answered the survey were for gay marriage, 35% (or 36%, my memory is not flawless, I'm only human) were against. I have studied some Statistical Science; I know surveys aren't always accurate, but if we look at these numbers, what does this tell us? The MPs were elected to represent the people, but do the opinions of the MPs really reflect the opinions of the people?
Another thing that struck while watching the show was that almost every single point against gay marriage was based on the Bible. The Bible says that God created man and wife to populate the Earth, and so on. But if I recall correctly, I was taught at school that in Finland the church is separate from the state. So, that in mind, why does it matter what the Bible says? We're talking about secular legislation; man's law, not God's law. In my opinion the best option would be to leave the church out of this and let them make their own decisions. The state could allow both straight and gay couples to get a civil marriage, and those who wish for their union to be blessed by a religious organisation may seek such a blessing, but the religious organisations would also have the right to refrain from blessing the unions that are against their teachings. Sounds logical to me.
One of the debaters against gay marriage (I can't remember his name) said that homosexual relationships are unnecessary to the society, but heterosexual relationships are like gravity. Well, my theme song has been for a while now Defying Gravity from the musical Wicked. I've always felt that that song speaks to me, and now I feel even more so.

EDIT October 19th
24 000 people have now left the Lutheran Church of Finland since the debate.