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Should homosexuals receive all the rights and benefits of marriage?

Results so far:

Yes		62%	1707 votes	Total: 2746 votes
No		38%	1039 votes	Total: 2746 votes

Yes

1 of 129

I have never understood why, in this age of reason and compassion, there is even a debate about gay marriage. I personally have never even seen one single debatable point from those who oppose gay marriage. The following is a list of the "stronger" arguments I've seen against gay marriage, and why even these are patently absurd and discriminatory.

1) Marriage is a religious institution, and the Bible prohibits homosexuality.

This is the most common argument and also the biggest fallacy. Marriage is NOT a religious institution. It is part of secular law. If marriage were a religious institution, it would be recognized only by the couple's church and the couple's God. If marriage were a religious institution, married couples would not be allowed to visit their spouse in a "relatives-only" hospital room, they would not be able to file joint tax returns, they would not be able to enjoy the benefits of each other's insurance... there are countless secular laws and benefits attached to marriage. And if marriage were a religious institution, there would be no "going down to the courthouse" to get married. Perhaps marriage began as a religious institution, and perhaps it has a deep religious meaning to many married couples - but as long as marriage grants special standing and privileges in the eyes of secular law, then it is not just a "religious institution".

Further more, this country was founded with the principle of "separation of church and state" - in other words, we don't force our citizens to do the bidding of your god. Keeping marriage from a group of people on the basis of your religion spits in the face of our American ideals of freedom, and the right to live by any religion (or lack thereof) that you wish.

2) Marriage is for procreation and the continuation the species.

The implication here is that gay people shouldn't get married because they can't reproduce. But then surely the infertile or those who simply choose not to have children would be banned from marriage also. Yet I have never heard of a call for a constitutional amendment to ban infertile couples from being married.

3) Gay marriage opens the door for bestiality, pedophilia, and other "abnormal" behaviors.

This one boggles my mind the most. The implication is that homosexuality is 'abnormal' so it is a 'gateway drug', if you will, to other abnormal behaviors. But the strange thing is that advocating gay marriage isn't advocating anything even remotely similar to men marrying dogs. Gay marriage is about two loving, committed, consensual adult humans bonding in a lifelong relationship. If that leads to bestiality, then logically so does straight marriage - which is about two loving, committed, consensual adult humans bonding in a lifelong relationship. If one leads to 'abnormal' behavior, then so does the other. It is downright silly to ban someone from marrying their partner because you don't approve of the partner's gender - it's the same as banning someone from marrying their partner because you don't approve of the partner's race, political affiliation, or career; again, this is something that rarely, if ever, is given credence as a legitimate reason for the legality of marriage.

4) Marriage is an ancient ceremony and should not be altered. Otherwise the sanctity of the institution will be destroyed.

Marriage has been altered before, and it has survived. Divorce is now allowed, interracial marriage is now allowed, women have rights in a marriage and in divorce... it would once have been completely inconceivable for an interracial couple to marry, and then divorce, and for the woman to receive a decent part of the settlement, but now this is entirely possible. And still loving couples are engaging in lifelong marriages, and the same will continue if gay marriage is allowed. Yes, gay couples will be involved in scandal and divorce, but so will straight couples. It is patently absurd to hold one group to higher standards than another in this way.

5) Homosexuality isn't natural.

This one is the goofiest arguments, and it is only accepted by the remarkably uninformed. Homosexual behavior has been documented in hundreds of animal species. If homosexuality is not 'natural', then it would, by definition, NEVER occur in nature. And yet it does, and on a seemingly large scale. So by very definition this argument is utter nonsense.

6) Seeing two men kiss makes me uncomfortable.

This is another prominent argument, one based entirely on emotion and prejudice rather than logic and compassion. But sadly, this gets close to the heart of the matter. Gay marriage opponents are simply not comfortable seeing a gay couple, therefore they believe the gay couples should hide their love for each other and not be allowed to marry. Personally, I'm not comfortable seeing two discriminatory anti-gay people marry and receive full marital benefits while demanding others not be allowed the same freedom, but I will not suggest they be banned from marriage.

What really saddens me is that none of these arguments are based on fact, logic, reason, or compassion. In fact, every single one is based solely on prejudice and discrimination. They all stem from an unfortunate "You're different, I don't approve of your lifestyle, so you shouldn't be allowed to enjoy it" mentality. This is no way to run a free country, and this is absolutely no way to live up to the ideal of "liberty and justice for all".

And why SHOULD gay couples be allowed to marry? Social reasons - Massachusetts is the only state to allow gay marriage, and also has one of the lowest divorce rates in the country. I was under the impression that having more lasting, stable marriages is a GOOD thing. Economic reasons - weddings are expensive; certainly, allowing a huge new segment of the population to marry isn't going to take anyone's job away. Patriotic reasons - As an American, I despise anyone who says one group of people should have basic rights while another shouldn't. It goes against EVERYTHING I was raised to believe about this great country. And the most important reason - basic human decency. As demonstrated above, the arguments against gay marriage are based entirely on bigotry and ignorance, and as a species we should be fighting to rise above those traits.

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No

1 of 38

by EAN

After watching the Miss USA 2009 beauty pageant, where Miss California Carrie Prejean was asked a question regarding gay marriage by celebrity blogger Perez Hilton and when she responded to the question to the shock and awe of the audience that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. I instantly stood and applauded her for sticking to her Christian beliefs. That took a lot of guts especially when you're being watched by millions of people.

It's about time that someone took a stand and spoke out against homosexuality and gay marriage. This has been going on for far too long.

It's disturbing to watch the gay community wielding its power and propaganda that homosexuality is a normal activity between two people. Nowadays, it's hard to watch a film or a show on television that doesn't involve gay characters in it.

It's also infuriating and damn near insulting whenever folks from the gay community continue to compare their struggles for equality to that of black folks during the civil rights movement.

Pardon me, but I don't remember seeing an unarmed gay man being shot to death by a white police officer in public view in front of dozens of shocked bystanders.

I also don't remember gay people being profiled by the authorities because of their sexual orientation. I can go on and on.

There're minorities who've fought and died in world wars defending this so called great nation of ours. These brave men bled their lives protecting the very same freedom and liberties that so many of you ungrateful hypocrites disguised as patriots take for granted everyday. And many of those minority veterans are homeless on the street.

But a gay man deserves special treatment because of his sexual preference?

Now that's some B.S.

What sacrifices has the gay community ever made to the betterment of this country?

Were they involved in civil rights marches? Did they protest the war in Vietnam and Iraq?

Tell me what historical things has the gay community done to better this country?

And the manner to which Perez Hilton reacted to Carrie Prejean answering his question really shows how much of a hypocrite this guy really is.

And by him calling Miss Prejean a bitch and other foul, derogatory words was totally uncalled for and unnecessary and this is one of the many reasons why gays are hated so much in this country because of Perez Hilton's behavior.

Great job Perez, you've single handedly managed to make yourself out to look like a total jackass and send all the hard work of so many gay organizations to legalize gay marriage back to the stone ages.

We need more people like Carrie Prejean to stand up and speak out against homosexuality and gay marriage.

Good job Carrie.

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