Gay marriage rights? Your thoughts?

I'm going with the wisdom of Ferris Beuhler on this one:

"I have a test on European Socialism. I'm not European, I don't plan on being European, so who gives a c**p if they're socialist."

I'm not gay, I don't plan on being gay, so I don't care if they get married. States issue marraige liscences...so it's a state issue. A constitutional amendment is just not smart, and won't pass.

I will agree with a large portion of many of the posts here, but those quoting religious reasons...Jesus, himself, said "judge not lest ye be judged"...and let the person without sin cast the first stone.

So, I can't. and won't. Judge that is.

Thanks for clarifying that.
My :twocents:
The parties in SF are going about it the wrong way, and their marriages are prima facie invalid. Any California court, regardless of how liberal it may be considered, would be obligated to declare it so. If they didn't, the Supreme Court certainly would.
There are several ways to go about changing the existing law, but the way it's happening now is the poorest choice, with the smallest chance of success.
From a legal perspective, broadening the definition of marriage is a slippery slope. Polygamists will have one heck of an argument if gay marriage is permitted. Which group would follow them, I wonder?

Okay coach, I was waiting for your "liberal/moderate" republican take on it.
Jesus also set a standard of morals and He is talking about people's hearts not their actions. So it is really hate the sin, love the sinner.

Oooops...

I thought I had landed in clubhouse due to some computer glitch.... :umno:

Lets pick another subject before we end up with hard feelings huh?

My opinion on this subject is known only to the people who need to know.

Even casual and polite conversation on this subject may hurt feelings, even if it is not obvious at the time.

RG

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

I think there is a reasonable compromise available. Give gay domestic partnerships the same legal protections as marriage, but refer to them as just that - partnerships. I think that would mollify those who want marriage only between a man and a woman and the otherside wanting the same rights as married heterosexual couples.

I don't really have a problem with it one way or the other. However, I am strictly against writing an amendment into either the Georgia State Constition or U.S. that promotes bigotry and discrimination against a certain segement of society. Didn't we learn anything from the Jim Crow laws?

I certainly hope I have not caused hurt feelings and I apologize if I have.

I don't see why it is such a big deal. My bestest friend EVAH (who has stuck with me from everything to a nasty divorce to the rebound to career changes, who has been through hell and high water himself, and who would give the shirt from his back to almost anyone who was cold) would love nothing more than to meet the right person, and get married in a lovely ceremony and celebrate with friends. You know what? He can't. Because he wants to marry another guy and he lives in Ohio. How stupid is that concept?

Down with Shrub!!!!!

Believe it or not, I have no opinion on this, other marriages have no baring on my own. I do, however take note of the inconsistancy of the following: A judge breaks the law by trying to stop the removal of the 10 Commandments from the lobby of a courthouse. He is fired. :umno: A Mayor breaks the law by issuing permits for same sex couples to marry. He is celebrated. :shrug:

To add to the religious perspective...

First of all, I can quote the Bible, which definitely says "Judge not, lest ye be judged."

That's if you believe the Bible and it's "editors".


I remember a beautiful story from either Greek or Roman mythology that went something like;

Once, everyone was joined at the hip with another. People weren't single identities, they were a couple. Some were a women and a man, some were a women and a women, some were a man and a man. Everyone was deliriously happy, so much so that the gods were angered at all of this joy among simple humans. The deities conspired to separate all of the humans. Ever since that event took place, people have wandered the world over, searching for their other half.

BIG FREAKIN' FATTY TO ALL OF WHAT RX SAID ABOVE, especially the last part. (I didn't quote it all because I know my response is going to be really long winded) You are so on target with that--if you ask the hijackers from 9-11, they'd tell you (oh wait, they're DEAD )that "their" God, who to them is "the" God just like in any other religion, said it was a good thing to kill all those people in the U.S. This is one big problem I have with organized religion, and regardless of the fact that much of our country's constitutional law was based on religious tenets, which is true, there has since been recognized a need for separation of church and state. This isn't the medieval age, where the Church was the Governing Body, and if you look at most of the conservative arguments, the majority of them do have to do with morality, which ties in more closely with religious beliefs than does finances. The argument about benefits is, IMHO, bullsh*t for exactly the reasons already stated. Plenty of heterosexual couples are getting married for benefits, citizenship, whatever, and like someone said, some are really milking the system and living apart to get even more. The argument about "where does it end, soon you'll want to marry your pet llama" is also a bunch of c**p (again just my HO) because, to date, there still are standards regarding bigamy, poligamy and incestual marriages, at least in our country. There ARE limits and there can continue to be reasonable limits. I have challenged a lot of the die hard conservatives, my roomie being one of them, to come up with a solid PERSONAL reason why THEY personally would feel threatened by my gay cousin and his SO of 6 years getting married, or my lesbian friend who's been with the same woman for 15 years and is in a more stable, committed, loving relationship than half my heterosexual friends are (including me who has yet to find a guy she could tolerate "forever") getting married. And you know what? Not a damn one of them can find anything that would threaten them PERSONALLY. I bet the lawmakers can't either. There are enough heterosexual couples out there still willing to marry and have children, so our population isn't in danger of dwindling off anytime soon. And that's another sore point that ties into the "family will be destroyed" argument: are we heterosexuals who have chosen not to marry or to marry and not procreate then lesser human beings than those who do their duty and propagate the species? I f'ing think NOT. Would you rather see a kid brought up in a healthy home with two loving parents who will care for it and protect it (same sex parents) or see it brought up in an unhealthy home, sexually, physically, mentally abused, f-ed up for life (but the parents are a man and a woman)? And I know there are "good parents" and "bad parents" on both sides of the spectrum, so without using semantics, those are your two choices. Think long and hard about your answer, because I've worked with the product of such "oh-so-valued heterosexual" households, and the results are heartbreaking. And for those of you who don't want their kids exposed to "gayness"...think long and hard about this.....research still strongly points to biological, NOT environmental factors influencing whether a person is homosexual or not. Whether they choose to acknowledge that publicly is something else, but either you're gay/lesbian or you're not--seeing it out in the world is not going to make you "turn that way." So....I ask....what if it ends up that your kid is gay? Then what? Toss him/her out on the street and make him/her an outcast because it doesn't fit in with your belief system? Because you "brought them up to know better?" It doesn't work that way, sorry. I say leave them the F alone and let them get married. Period. :x :x

BIGGEST FATTEST :1: EVER TO WHAT RUNNER X SAID

Honestly (and I'm going to try to make this non-political but it's hard) ; Who in the hell defines god anyway? As to what RunnerX said, let's remember 9.11 and the people that killed hundreds of our friends because "god" told them to do just that.

We can open up another thread on stupid states with stupid governors and stupid bans on gay adoptions and stupid people ripping kids out of a home because a stupid governor won't sign some stupid piece of paper but that's another story.

:LOL: welcome to Clubhouse II, dude.

I would like to offer a differing perspective to what Runner X said about "What God said". I have the same (i think) problem with those who commit horrible acts in the name of God and said that God told them to do it. For the sake of my own experience, i'm going to limit this to Christianity (in general).

Christians, and i am baldly generalizing here, believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. I believe that if a person believes that God is speaking to him (simplifying pronouns for ease of writing), then that person should then go back and read the Bible to see if what is being said lines up with what is in the Bible. If i think God is telling me to bomb and abortion clinic and murder everyone inside, i should see what the Bible tells me about that act. Well, the Old Testament condemns murder. The New Testament tells me that not only is murder wrong, if i have hatred in my heart towards my brother, i am already guilty of that sin.

Some Christians belive that there is an invisible war going on for our souls between the forces of good and the forces of evil (Satan). If this is so, and someone says that God told them to bomb and abortion clinic but the Bible (otherwise known as the inspired word of God) tells them differently, then i would think it is safe to say that that person was decieved and if he acts and bombs the abortion clinic, that person is acting against the Word of God.

I think it is dangerous to lump together those who incorrectly use the name of God to do what they want all the while ignoring what the Bible teaches with those who are trying to best follow the teachings of Jesus and follow the two greatest commandments:
1. Love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, mind, and strength
2. Love your neighbor

I would also be very careful about making any local, state, or federal law based on what people think God said. But, to me, it makes sense that a Christian would want to make a law that is in accordance with their walk with Jesus.