{"id":2134,"date":"2012-05-16T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-05-16T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/05\/i-support-marriage-equality-my-evolution.html"},"modified":"2012-05-16T11:00:00","modified_gmt":"2012-05-16T11:00:00","slug":"i-support-marriage-equality-my-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/05\/i-support-marriage-equality-my-evolution.html","title":{"rendered":"I Support Marriage equality: My evolution"},"content":{"rendered":"<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\">\n<html><head><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><meta http-equiv=\"content-type\" content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\"><\/head><body><p>by Ralph Watkins<br><a href=\"http:\/\/www.itsthechurch.org\/ItsTheChurch\/Blog\/Entries\/2012\/5\/16_I_Support_Marriage_equality__My_evolution.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">from: It\u2019s the Church<\/a><\/p>\n<p>My wife, Vanessa, and I moved from Augusta Georgia to Pasadena California in 2005.   Prior to our moving to California I hadn\u2019t taken the time to ponder the question of marriage equality. During our time in Augusta I was more concerned with issues like underfunded public education, the prison industrial complex, unjust wars fought by brown, black and poor young adults, the creation of a permanent under class and the continuing legacies\u2019 of classism, racism and sexism.<\/p>\n<p>After living in California for a few years marriage equality was put on my list of major social justice issues that had to be addressed.  As Proposition 8 came to be a center of conversation in California in 2008 I was in the conversation.  I began to listen to the arguments for and against the initiative.  I was compelled to be a part of the conversation because so many of my friends and church members in California were affected by the outcome of this initiative and so was I. I refused to be content to sit back and hold onto my reified position.  I had to engage the issue and process where God was calling me to stand in 2008.<br>Read the rest <a href=\"http:\/\/www.itsthechurch.org\/ItsTheChurch\/Blog\/Entries\/2012\/5\/16_I_Support_Marriage_equality__My_evolution.html\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Ralph Watkinsfrom: It\u2019s the Church My wife, Vanessa, and I moved from Augusta Georgia to Pasadena California in 2005. Prior to our moving to California I hadn\u2019t taken the time to ponder the question of marriage equality. During our time in Augusta I was more concerned with issues like underfunded public education, the prison [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2251,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2134","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>I Support Marriage equality: My evolution<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"by Ralph Watkinsfrom: It&#039;s the ChurchMy wife, Vanessa, and I moved from Augusta Georgia to Pasadena California in 2005. Prior to our moving to California\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/05\/i-support-marriage-equality-my-evolution.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"I Support Marriage equality: My evolution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Ralph Watkinsfrom: It&#039;s the ChurchMy wife, Vanessa, and I moved from Augusta Georgia to Pasadena California in 2005. Prior to our moving to California\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2012\/05\/i-support-marriage-equality-my-evolution.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rhetoric Race and Religion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-05-16T11:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Andre E. Johnson\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Andre E. 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