The Plight of a Pacifist Soldier

The issue of gay rights seems to be everywhere lately!  The topic has found its way to the heights of headlines and the crown of conversation.  One of the main debates here has been over the issue of marriage.  Should gay marriage be legal or not?

A good way to put in perspective what is in essence happening is to put this in military terms.  Imagine someone who desperately wants to join the army.  The only problem is that they are fiercely pacifist and the very idea of war is repulsive to them.  Therefore, they want the army to adopt an entirely new pacifist limb of the military so that they can both fulfill their dream of joining the army and stay true to their pacifist convictions.

In all honesty, I really have no desire to hinder or appeal to government to restrict gay individuals from doing whatever they wish.  We live in America and as such we hold that we are very much so a free people.  So far as someone's actions affect them and them alone, I have no right to seek to restrict that.

The only area that trips me up in all of this then is not that the gay community wants to live together but that they want to redefine marriage altogether.  This lofty goal of redefining a cornerstone of our culture is where they lose me.  If someone is a pacifist then they have every right to hold fast to that belief.  The army, however, has a clearly defined mandate and must stay true to that trust.

Diversity is fine, and people will do as they please.  But the institution of marriage must not be infringed upon.  More than we know, the very foundation of our society rests on the shoulders of family.  So goes the family, so goes our country.  Right now, both are having a bit of a rough time.  Here's hoping and praying that our next steps as a nation are not towards compromise but towards the bedrock strength of a family structure at its finest.

What do you think?  Should gay marriage be legal?