Locals speak out on gay marriage

• By Rene De La Cruz and Charity Lindsey
  Staff Writers

  
  Posted Jun. 26, 2015 at 8:26 PM 
  
  

  VICTORVILLE — As the news spread across the nation Friday of the Supreme Court's ruling that states cannot ban same-sex marriage, the reaction of High Desert residents was mixed, with many welcoming the decision, some questioning the ruling and others voicing opposition.

  For Haley Park, a college student from Apple Valley, Friday’s decision was a big step toward “not only equality, but happiness for many Americans.”

  “It makes me proud to know that all Americans can now be married regardless of sexual orientation,” Park said. “Because after all, we all deserve love and happiness.”

  Park, who attends school in San Diego, said she knows many people in the gay community who are the “epitome of pure love,” who can now express that love to the fullest extent.

  Meanwhile, some saw the Court's decision as an affront to their religious beliefs.

  “Marriage was ordained by our creator as a sacred bond between a man and woman,” said Kevin Williams of Apple Valley. “What gives any court the authority to change that?”

  Williams said God’s “gift” of a rainbow was a sign to mankind that God would never flood the earth again.

  “Now you can't even look at a rainbow without hearing gay people rejoicing aloud in regard to sexual freedoms,” Williams said. “I am shocked by my Christian believer friends who are huge proponents of gay marriage. I don't see how someone can be both. It's such an oxymoron to me.”

  Citing a Bible passage — “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife” — Julie Norton of Apple Valley asked how the Supreme Court could redefine marriage when they never defined it in the first place.

  Joe Esparza, Victorville resident and President of the Gay-Straight Alliance at Victor Valley College, says he is a pansexual, which he explains “just means that I’m attracted to anything and everything under the rainbow.”

  “This does affect me tremendously," Esparza said. "If I wanted to marry the person I am in love with, if it happened to be a woman, prior to this, I would still be able to, but because of this, I am now able to be married to whoever I am in love with.”

  Not every person in the gay community applauded the ruling.

  “Gay or straight, it’s not the government’s call,” said one lesbian woman who asked that her name be withheld because of the sensitivity of the subject. “Once the government gets involved in anything it gets messy.”

  Hesperia Councilman Paul Russ voiced concerns about the political ramifications of the decision.

  “Although not gay myself, I have many gay friends,” Russ said. “I think this is a States' rights issue. How do you stop polygamy now?”

  But partners Brian Hatley and Kyle Macy, from Apple Valley, are thrilled that if they ever want to marry, they can now do it anywhere in the U.S.

  "It is going to help America move forward in understanding the homosexual lifestyle," Hatley said. "I hope it will open a lot of people's eyes to how our country is changing. We're moving forward in a positive way."

  Macy said the ruling "shows that every person born after this day will never have to wonder 'Will I be able to get married?"

  “Today the justice system of America came to a clear democratic decision to help support those who believe that all Americans deserve the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,” Timothy Tyler, of Adelanto, said. “For that reason I can proudly say that I am a young, black, gay American with full rights to happiness and liberty, something that just a few months ago I did not have. Thank you, America, and may God bless America."