Do you approve?

[aly]

Originally posted by RubyMutt
I'm all for it.

I believe you should have the right to marry the person whom you love. It's no one's business to tell you who you have or do not have the right to marry. That's just absurd. Gays should have just the amount of privileges that people who are in opposite sex marriages have.

Bush made me want to hurl when he suggested that amendment.

100% AGREED !!!!

It makes me very angry when people think gay marriage is "wrong"

[CathyBogart]

Here's a question for those who don't approve.... Why?

I've yet to hear an argument against that really satisfies me.

"It's traditional" doesn't fly, because humans are great at making new traditions when old ones become outdated. What about the tradition of wifebeating? The traditional marriage is no longer taken seriously even between heterosexual couples, which we need only look at the divorce rate to confirm.

"It's religion" doesn't work because not everyone here shares the same beliefs. That's what makes the USA such a wonderful place....that we have so much variety in our people!

"It's Unnatural" is a blatant lie. HUNDREDS of animal species exhibit homosexual behavior, including lifelong pair-bonds and rearing youngsters. Flamingos are one of the greatest examples of this: two male flamingos will mate for life, and build a nest. One of the females in the flock will lay eggs in the males' nest, and the males will rear the subsequent chicks.

"It's just wrong" isn't even a real argument!

I'm trying to think of others that I've heard, but I can't right off the top of my head.

[ramanth]

100 % for it.

[2kitties]

go for it!

[pitbullmommy]

i think people should be able to marry who ever they love not matter if is the same sex or not.i also think that they should be allowed to adopt. I am not gay but i know a few ppl that are and i see the love they have for each other.

[Rottieluver45]

Originally posted by WolfChan
Here's a question for those who don't approve.... Why?

I've yet to hear an argument against that really satisfies me.

"It's traditional" doesn't fly, because humans are great at making new traditions when old ones become outdated. What about the tradition of wifebeating? The traditional marriage is no longer taken seriously even between heterosexual couples, which we need only look at the divorce rate to confirm.

"It's religion" doesn't work because not everyone here shares the same beliefs. That's what makes the USA such a wonderful place....that we have so much variety in our people!

"It's Unnatural" is a blatant lie. HUNDREDS of animal species exhibit homosexual behavior, including lifelong pair-bonds and rearing youngsters. Flamingos are one of the greatest examples of this: two male flamingos will mate for life, and build a nest. One of the females in the flock will lay eggs in the males' nest, and the males will rear the subsequent chicks.

"It's just wrong" isn't even a real argument!

I'm trying to think of others that I've heard, but I can't right off the top of my head.

WOW!! You`re good! Great point!

[PJ's Mom]

I'll go with the majority on this. It's nobody's business who you marry.

Why can't we all keep out of other people's business, live our own lives and let others do the same?

[G.P.girl]

Originally posted by WolfChan
Here's a question for those who don't approve.... Why?

I've yet to hear an argument against that really satisfies me.

"It's traditional" doesn't fly, because humans are great at making new traditions when old ones become outdated. What about the tradition of wifebeating? The traditional marriage is no longer taken seriously even between heterosexual couples, which we need only look at the divorce rate to confirm.

"It's religion" doesn't work because not everyone here shares the same beliefs. That's what makes the USA such a wonderful place....that we have so much variety in our people!

"It's Unnatural" is a blatant lie. HUNDREDS of animal species exhibit homosexual behavior, including lifelong pair-bonds and rearing youngsters. Flamingos are one of the greatest examples of this: two male flamingos will mate for life, and build a nest. One of the females in the flock will lay eggs in the males' nest, and the males will rear the subsequent chicks.

"It's just wrong" isn't even a real argument!

I'm trying to think of others that I've heard, but I can't right off the top of my head.

Wow yeah i agree. nobody i ask can i give me a "real" reason other than the ones you just said

[tikeyas_mom]

Honestly i dont care either way.. It isnt my prob...

[catland]

Starting today, gay couples here in Portland Oregon can get married.

What I think?

I'm worried that the gay/lesbian couples aren't seeing the bigger picture here. This issue could end up giving the presidency back to GW, which is probably the last thing that a lot of them would want.

Why?

Because this issue divides people. This issue is disturbing to a lot of people and could be the issue that creates fear and causes them to back away from the more liberal democrats.

PCB - I appreciate your honesty and respect your beliefs. One thing we can remember here is that most of these marriges are being performed by judges and not by priests or rabbis or the muslim equivilant (my appologies, I don't know the correct word for the muslim equivilant).

btw - my opinion - I think that the normalizing of single-parents and out of wedlock children are far more damaging to our moral fabric.

[Logan]

I thought this was an insiteful and interesting approach to this whole issue. It was written by a local talk show host (talk radio) in his daily "dispatch" which I get by email every day. He certainly brings up some valid points!

Not all marriage is equal



While the rest of the nation mires itself in what is likely going to be an endless debate over same-sex marriage, I'm going to change the subject, and begin a new, equally unpopular campaign on a related issue. I expect no success whatsoever, and very little moral support from people of any political ilk, whether they are liberal, conservative or anything in between.



I don't care because my goal is just and right and fair.



I start with the premise stated simply and succinctly last week in an opinion column published by the Wall Street Journal. The author is Mary Ann Glendon, a professor of law at Harvard University. She stated, "Society gives married couples special benefits because most of them are raising or have raised children -- and research shows that intact families are the most desirable for raising children."



You will find very little disagreement with that statement, either in whole or in part.



1. Society does give special benefits to married couples. That's why other couples want the same benefits. No one likes to be left out.

2. Most married couples either are raising, or have raised children. Not all, but most.

3. Nearly all pertinent research does in fact show that intact families are the most desirable for raising children. The key word there is "intact."



Each of the parts of Ms. Glendon's statement is true and the whole statement is likewise true. Society gives married couples special benefits because most of them are raising or have raised children -- and research shows that intact families are the most desirable for raising children.



Therefore, if society insists on adopting laws for the purpose of benefiting children, it should narrow, not expand, the body of people upon whom it chooses to confer those benefits. In other words, we need to start taking benefits away from many married people, because they don't fit the mold.



The most obvious people who would lose the benefits are those who divorce - people like me. The same research that sings the praises of intact families warns of the destructive nature of divorce. Therefore, divorced parents should lose the child tax credits in the tax code and should not be able to claim their children as exemptions. People should get one shot at the benefits that accompany childrearing. If you stay married to your first spouse, you get lifetime benefits. If you don't, you lose them forever. You can't remarry and recapture your benefits.



What other benefits would you lose? How about inheritance advantages? Why should a man who marries one woman, raises children with her, and then dumps that woman for his young secretary be able to leave his new wife all of his worldly possessions without having to pay inheritance taxes. What did she do for society to deserve that special treatment?



I don't have a complete list of all of the special benefits that society gives to married couples, but it wouldn't take long for a good researcher to find all of them in our laws and for Congress or the states to reserve them for those married couples who meet some objective criteria. Politically, this is next to impossible. It would be like trying to take meat away from a pack of mad dogs. But, it's the only policy that actually fits the consensus reason that society gives benefits to married couples.



A better approach would be for society to mind its own business and quit using laws as leverage for social engineering. But that's even less likely to happen, so we should at least strive for the reward system to make sense. Giving all couples the same benefits based on their marital status makes about as much sense as giving all teachers the same pay based on their degrees.

[CathyBogart]

I have to respectfully disagree. With 6.4 billion people on this earth I think we really should be rewarding those married couples who do not reproduce.

Interesting line of thought though, that's an angle I hadn't looked at before. Thank you for sharing!

-Cathy

[aly]

Very interestubg, Logan. Thanks for sharing that. There are some good points there to ponder!

[wolfsoul]

Originally posted by WolfChan
I have to respectfully disagree. With 6.4 billion people on this earth I think we really should be rewarding those married couples who do not reproduce.

I agree. Scientists say that we are now at our level point. Level, meaning, our population has inclined greatly, and it's only time before we start dieing off, just like with all other animal populations. Just think of lemmings lol. That may be us soon. There are way too many people on the earth.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

posted by wolfsoul
People say that God doesn't like it. Well, if there really is a God, and He made the earth, and He made the people...then He shouldn't complain that He made some of his people gay.

God did not make people gay. It was a way of life they chose. I don't support gay marriages because God created marriages to join a man and his wife as one. Regardless of who preformes the ceremony it is wrong. A man sleeping with another man is immoral, it is a sin, it is no different than a man performing sexual acts on an animal. We all sin, the difference is I ask for forgiveness and it's forgotten, I also try not to sin.