What's your stand on gay marriage?

Hey, I said deacon. Didn't call out a specific demonination. My point is that many religions while agreeing that we all sin -- take a particularly dim view of the "sin" of homosexualism. It's like that's the one unforgiveable sin.

And, tresbags, why does it have to be a religious issue at all. Couldn't it be a civil ceremony?

 

Marriage, in this ongoing debate, is NOT a religious function. It is a legal/governmental function.

Churches can continue to hold whatever ceremonies they want, in regards to marriage. But those ceremonies are not bound by law, nor should they be.

However, the government cannot be allowed to discriminate against homosexual couples who wish to marry and secure all the benefits the law provides.

 

I used to be one of those who said "Well, civil unions are fine, but they can't be married!" And then I thought, what's the difference?

Couples, regardless of the number of genders they contain, should be able to do things such as will property to another, share the custody of children, file taxes together, etc. That's the civil union part of any marriage, same-sex or traditional, which most people believe should be available. The holy matrimony part comes from God. If a church marries a same-sex couple, obviously it's because they believe the union is blessed by God. I guess I figured that I'm not one to decide what God is going to bless and what He isn't.

And obviously, a same-sex union is certainly less threat to the institution of marriage than whatever it is Brittney Spears does.

If you want demographic info, put me down as a church-goer on the wrong side of 45.

 

I think a main point of debate is that the opponents of gay marriage would argue that other people having government-sanctioned gay marriage DOES affect them and IS their business. I essentially disagree, but I think that's a central element of their argument.

 

FOR IT. There are important things to get worked up about, and this isn't one of them.

 

I was raised in a very traditional, conservative Southen family, with the corresponding value set. I blame nothing on my family or church, but I wasn't raised around homosexuals. They weren't at home, church, school or play. They weren't a part of my life until I was a working adult. I wasn't around homosexuals, to my knowledge, until I was 24 with a job at a mid-size daily.

I have no problems with homosexuals, as I have worked around some wonderful people -- including a gay man who was killed in a car accident that I loved dearly.

I believe it's immoral, but I can't tell you what to do and don't care to.

And, as if anyone's wondering, this is also my stance on abortion.

 

Not for it, but you hit the nail on the head with your second sentence.

 

i have yet to hear a rational argument against gay marriage. look, i'll be the first to admit that i'm a card-carrying liberal. but i'm also open-minded, tolerant and genuinely interested in how people think. even though i vehemently disagree, i totally understand a lot of right wing positions such as stem cell research or abortion. i mean, i get it. your argument, while wrong, at least has a basis on logic. even if the logic is flawed. i even can understand - but again, disagree with - the extreme right wing views like about creationism and stuff. a small part of my brain can even make room to understand people who are racist and bigoted, even though of course i find those views to be deplorable.

but when it comes to gay marriage, the opposing arguments defy logic. they are literally incomprehensible to me. i simply can't understand how anyone would be impacted because two members of the same sex would be allowed to marry. you and your precious children will not be harmed by allowing gays to marry. this is a fact.

 

I think it's morally wrong. I don't give a fuck if anyone else does it. I'm not on a crusade to stop it. How's that hard to understand.

 

That second sentence rings strong to me, because that's the way I believe I feel about another issue -- abortion.

And again, that comes back to what I said earlier, about people defining themselves by certain differences or certain issues. There are people out there who are known most in the world by whether they are pro-choice or pro-life ... and that just seems weird to me.

 

It's not my place to tell you what to do or not to do. I think it's wrong because that's how I want to believe. Jump off a cliff if you want to; it doesn't affect me, so I don't care.