As a JW, deep down, I always had issues with a lot of their rulings on what was moral or immoral. I toed the party line because it was expected, but I know now how delusional I was to think I could keep my doubts on the back burner forever.
I am very pro gay rights. It's now my opinion that a person's sexuality doesn't determine their worth as a human being and should not determine whether or not they are entitled to the same rights as someone who is heterosexual. I've known many lovely gay couples who seem to have more respect for their relationship than a lot of hetero couples do. I believe they should be given the right to marry the person they love, just as heteros are. Quite often I hear the argument that "God made Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve"... While I don't believe such a creator exists, IF he or she did, then they also created animals with homosexual tendencies and the need to parent offspring with a same sex mate. So that argument is blown out of the water, in my opinion. Funny you should mention your mother's attitude...mine had the same. When they legalized same-sex unions here, she cried about how they were "ruining the institution of marriage that Jehovah created"...oh, so Brittney Spears and the myriad of other hetero celebs had no affect on that? Gimme a break. My parents are always zeroing in on this one gay friend of mine and making snide comments, complete with lisps and effeminate hand gestures. "Oh, we saw ____ today...yeah he was out with his new beau..." and then my mom will chime in with "Ugh! That's so disgusting!". My mother would never say these things to his face. EVER! She waits until his back is turned. One day he came over and put his hand on her shoulder and very lovingly asked how she was doing (cause that's how he is). She said "I'm fine" with a smile...then when he walked away, she shuddered and mumbled "Don't touch me, you disgusting PIG!". Nice. Very Christian.
As for premarital sex, I am now of the "try before you buy" mentality. I would never buy a car without test driving it. I did the whole waiting for marriage thing and sex was a HUGE problem in my relationship. It was the elephant in the room that no one wanted to talk about. We were highly incompatible in that area and I'll not make that mistake again.
Smoking, I agree, is a health issue. I don't care if someone wants to pollute their own body, but I appreciate the ability to opt out if I so choose...and not just opt out because I HAVE to because some crazy cult tells me I have to. I will smoke hookah once in awhile, and I have smoked marijuana on occasion (though not anymore). It's my body, it's my choice.
As for anything else, although I am not Wiccan, I think the Wiccan Rede sums up how I feel quite nicely: An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will
