Sex makes people stupid...especially in Georgia
Sex has the unfortunate side effect of sometimes making people stupid. And not just the people engaged in its myriad permutations, but often the people who legislate it.
Case in point is the Georgia legislature, which, with passionate intensity, crafted a law that has put Genarlow Wilson in the slammer for a decade-long sentence for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. Wilson, a popular honor student in his senior year of high school, was 17 at the time.
He's been in jail now for a couple of years, even though the draconian law has since been changed to make his offense a misdemeanor, and a judge has said he should be set free.
Based on news reports about the case, it seems to me Georgia is badly hung up about oral sex. Apparently, if Mr. Generlow and his willing partner had had a more traditional missionary position roll in the hay, their act would have fallen under the quaintly named "Romeo and Juliet'' exception to the former law and not had nearly so much trouble.
But get this: In Georgia, less than a decade ago, oral sex between a husband and a wife was illegal, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Where, in the name of God, does a law like that come from? I'm pretty familiar with the Bible. I don't see word one about married couples not being able to do that.
As someone who spent many years as pastor, I did my share of marital counseling and I can tell you that Georgia has it all backwards: the withholding of oral sex is often used as punishment in many homes.
Let's assume that a dozen years ago the good people of Georgia were outraged by what they perceived as a virtual crime wave of fellatio and cunnilingus sweeping across the state and cracked down on those who were flouting the law (in the privacy of their own bedrooms, with the shades drawn and the doors locked) and started throwing people in jail willy-nilly.
By the time Wilson had his misadventure in 2003, there wouldn't have been enough cops on the streets to arrest him, enough jurors to convict him and enough judges left on the bench to sentence him.
Will somebody let this man go now?
Case in point is the Georgia legislature, which, with passionate intensity, crafted a law that has put Genarlow Wilson in the slammer for a decade-long sentence for having consensual oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. Wilson, a popular honor student in his senior year of high school, was 17 at the time.
He's been in jail now for a couple of years, even though the draconian law has since been changed to make his offense a misdemeanor, and a judge has said he should be set free.
Based on news reports about the case, it seems to me Georgia is badly hung up about oral sex. Apparently, if Mr. Generlow and his willing partner had had a more traditional missionary position roll in the hay, their act would have fallen under the quaintly named "Romeo and Juliet'' exception to the former law and not had nearly so much trouble.
But get this: In Georgia, less than a decade ago, oral sex between a husband and a wife was illegal, punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
Where, in the name of God, does a law like that come from? I'm pretty familiar with the Bible. I don't see word one about married couples not being able to do that.
As someone who spent many years as pastor, I did my share of marital counseling and I can tell you that Georgia has it all backwards: the withholding of oral sex is often used as punishment in many homes.
Let's assume that a dozen years ago the good people of Georgia were outraged by what they perceived as a virtual crime wave of fellatio and cunnilingus sweeping across the state and cracked down on those who were flouting the law (in the privacy of their own bedrooms, with the shades drawn and the doors locked) and started throwing people in jail willy-nilly.
By the time Wilson had his misadventure in 2003, there wouldn't have been enough cops on the streets to arrest him, enough jurors to convict him and enough judges left on the bench to sentence him.
Will somebody let this man go now?
posted by Michael Riley at 9:26 AM
5 Comments:
"I'm pretty familiar with the Bible. I don't see word one about married couples not being able to do that." -- Reverend Michael Riley
And I don't imagine that it would make much of a difference to you, Reverend Riley, if the Bible did speak to matters involving oral sex. Even if Sacred Scripture were to, say, prohibit oral sex in all forms, I imagine you would find some way to rationalize away or otherwise ignore the relevant biblical passage(s).
We've seen you do as much insofar as the issue of gay marriages and/or gay civil unions are concerned. To wit: And as was pointed out previously on this blog site, Christ himself has defined marriage as a union between a male and a female (cf Matthew 19:4-6). Those words of Christ notwithstanding -- not to mention the fact that Sacred Scripture, in a number of passages, speaks to the inherent immorality of homosexual acts in general -- you have been rather adamant in your support of gay marriages and/or gay civil unions. Indeed, and if I recall correctly, you've even gone so far as to say that you would "bless" such a union. That you would do just that speaks volumes to what is readily apparent to any regular reader of your column and blog site: namely, Michael Riley is a liberal first and a Christian second.
I believe you should read a bit more into the story. The male was also charged with rape. The jury found him innocent of that charge but agreed that he was guilty of the lesser charge. Some of the jurors who were interviewed said that they agreed to the lesser charge to break a deadlock over the more serious charge. There was a videotape of the incident which shows this gentleman in a less than favorable light. Those jurors who said that they agreed to the lesser charge are quite upset that he is getting out of jail.
Spooky Ol' Pat wrote:
"Those words of Christ notwithstanding -- not to mention the fact that Sacred Scripture, in a number of passages, speaks to the inherent immorality of homosexual acts in general..."
Please convince me that those words are actually inspired by God and not the words of mere men who were voicing their own personal prejudices.
Still waiting, Spooky.
"Please convince me that those words are actually inspired by God and not the words of mere men who were voicing their own personal prejudices." -- Ray
That would require that you, Ray, be open to pursuing the truth. When you start from your often-stated premise that "the truth is whatever you want it to be," then you are, I am afraid, not quite up for the task at hand. In short, you are beyond your pay grade. That said, please know that I am praying for you.
Incidentally, why not ask that very same question of Reverend Riley? He was, after all, the first on this thread to reference Sacred Scripture in furtherance of a particular political point of view.
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