Blaming Same-Sex Marriage for California’s Fires

[courtesy of California Progress Report]

By Randy Bayne
The Bayne of Blog's California Notes

This one should be placed under the heading of “should have seen this one coming.” A writer of a Letter to the Editor in the Sacramento Bee has put to print what surely many others are thinking. The more than 1,000 fires charring the north state landscape are a result of California’s legalization of same-sex marriage.

Do you remember when same-sex marriage was front-page news? Less than a week later, California was burning.

The letter writer’s rationale is that since same-sex marriage licenses started being issued on June 16 and less than ten days later, on June 25, it was reported that 1,026 fires were burning across the north state, obviously there must be a connection. California is experiencing the wrath of the Almighty. The writer goes so far as to actually make a connection between dry lightning strikes and fire from heaven.

Furthermore, on the same day, the Associated Press reported, “In less than a day, an electrical storm unleashed nearly 8,000 lightning strikes that set more than 800 wildfires across Northern California – a rare example of ‘dry lightning.’ “

God must be mad. (Read that any way you like)

I could end this here with something like, “this wing-nut is friggin’ nuts.” It says enough on its own about the religious right and their total departure from Christian ideals. But I feel like a little rant today, and am really tired of people on both sides distorting scripture to mold it to fit their preconceptions.

Bob’s Rant

Mr. Letter-Writer couldn’t resist making the tired reference to the ancient destruction of biblical Sodom using Genesis 19. What he fails to do is take scripture in complete context; something we Christians are very good at accusing others of doing.