Homosexuality / Marriage

[Seeker of Solomon]

Ok, I'm working on a research paper for a class in school concerning gay marriage. I want to know people's opinions on Homosexuality, gay marriage, and the goverments role in defining marriage. I would really appriciate it if you would take some time to explain your opinions in detail, and perhaps post your religious affiliation so I can better understand your beliefs and why you believe that way. Thanks.

 

[Engyo]

Hmmmm.

I am Buddhist. I believe that it is not the government's business to tell people how to live. As far as marriage goes, there are several components. I believe that the civil contract between two people should be just that - a civil contract between two people. This should be totally separate from whatever religious ceremony one wishes to have regarding whatever union one wishes to enter into. To me, this removes all controversy and settles all the issues, except for all the folks who feel it is their right to tell others how to live.

 

[Sunstone]

Whenever I ask someone why gays should be prohibited from marrying, the best they seem to come up with is that gay marriage would destroy the sanctity of marriage and family values. Oddly enough, however, they almost never can explain just how gay marriage would destroy the sanctity of marriage and family values. In fact, I have yet to hear an explanation how that's possible, let alone a demonstration that it actually happens. So, I have concluded that that argument against gay marriage is mindless nonsense.

 

[Draka]

Ironically I am just finishing my Psychology project on homosexual parents being depicted in children's media. I wish you well on your school project.

I agree wholeheartedly with Sunstone on this. The government has no right to tell people how they should live, love, and lead their home lives. If two women or two men that love each other want to spend their lives together and get married to legally protect their rights as a couple then they should be able to. Plain and clear.

 

[Melody]

Ok, I'm working on a research paper for a class in school concerning gay marriage. I want to know people's opinions on Homosexuality, gay marriage, and the goverments role in defining marriage. I would really appriciate it if you would take some time to explain your opinions in detail, and perhaps post your religious affiliation so I can better understand your beliefs and why you believe that way. Thanks.

I am a Christian. At this point I'm torn on the issue of the right and wrong of homosexuality. Maybe I'm taking the coward's way out but I'm not not "thinking" about it at all since it doesn't seem to concern me or my family.

After much thought though, I do not believe marriage should be defined by a particular religion's beliefs. Otherwise, we run the risk of making a whole slew of laws based on nothing but religious morality and which religion's morality will we use? While I am a Christian, the far right's morality is a bit hard to swallow and, no offense to the muslims on the board, but I would hate to live under Islamic law as well.

So, once we remove the religious bias, where is the objection to same sex people getting married? I also agree with Sunstone. I do not see how gay marriage will destabilize the family unit.

 

[Green Gaia]

Ok, I'm working on a research paper for a class in school concerning gay marriage.

I wish you luck. What is your opinion of these issues?

I want to know people's opinions on Homosexuality, gay marriage, and the goverments role in defining marriage

.
Homosexuality: It is normal and natural for a segment of the human population. It is not chosen. Changing sexual orientation is not possible in most people (that includes straights). Neither heterosexuality or homosexuality are inherently sinful.
Gay Marriage: Should be legal and completely equal to heterosexual marriage in every way.
Govt's. role: If it give benefits to heterosexual unions, the exact same should be given to same-sex unions. To not do so is making second-class citizens of BGLT people. If ones religion wants to put extra barriers on marriage, that is up to them, but a secular government should treat everyone equally.

I would really appriciate it if you would take some time to explain your opinions in detail, and perhaps post your religious affiliation so I can better understand your beliefs and why you believe that way.

I'm a Unitarian Universalist. We are open to all without regard to race, color, sex, disability, affectional or sexual orientation, age, or national origin and without requiring adherence to any particular interpretation of religion or to any particular religious belief or creed. The Unitarian Universalist Association has a long-standing and deeply held commitment to support full equality for BGLT people, going back 35 years to 1970, including full and equal same-sex marriage benefits. However my beliefs on homosexuality and gay marriage came not from my religion or church but through my own experiences and truth-searching. I am gay, btw.

Thanks

You're welcome.

 

[Jaymes]

I want to know people's opinions on Homosexuality, gay marriage, and the goverments role in defining marriage.

Homosexuality - Perfectly natural. As long as it's done between two consenting adults, it's nobody's concern. I'm not sure if homosexuality is an inborn trait or a choice, though I'm leaning toward the belief that it's an inborn trait.

Gay marriage - I would like to marry my girlfriend at some point, so I'm very much for gay marriage. When gay marriage was first legal, I remember watching couples getting married, and I was happy to the point of tears. This is a good thing.

Government's role in defining marriage - Beyond defining it between two consenting adults who are in a right state of mind, it should have none.

I would really appriciate it if you would take some time to explain your opinions in detail, and perhaps post your religious affiliation so I can better understand your beliefs and why you believe that way. Thanks.

I'm not sure what religion I'd fall under, though right now I lean toward Taoism.

 

[Seeker of Solomon]

I sat down for several hours and made a list of possible pro's and con's of gay marriage. When I had concluded, I could not really find any acceptable arguments to not allow them to marry. What I ended up with was a long list of why it was wrong to prohibit same sex marriages. One of the things that helped me make up my mind was the fact that not allowing same sex marriage seemed to be saying that someone with different sexual preferences from anyone else was not as human as everyone else and didn't deserve the same values. I found that this was highly comparable to the issue of slavery, and hatred based on the fact that someone was different. Though not gay, I am a firm believer in the rights of people to live as they choose, and I don't like the idea of my goverment basing laws on religious merit after they have made so many rulings aganst religious things, like having the ten commandments on the side of a supreme court building.

hrm, I think that explains my ideas a little, but I'm not sure I'm pretty sick at the moment, and my mind isn't working very coherently.

 

[Yerda]

Homosexuality: It is normal and natural for a segment of the human population. It is not chosen. Changing sexual orientation is not possible in most people (that includes straights). Neither heterosexuality or homosexuality are inherently sinful.
Gay Marriage: Should be legal and completely equal to heterosexual marriage in every way.
Govt's. role: If it give benefits to heterosexual unions, the exact same should be given to same-sex unions. To not do so is making second-class citizens of BGLT people. If ones religion wants to put extra barriers on marriage, that is up to them, but a secular government should treat everyone equally.

I thoroughly agree with Maize and her articulate summation of these issues.

 

[Prima]

Well...I agree with Maize, truthseekingsoul, Jensa, Draka, Sunstone, Engyo - and you!

I encourage you to check out the numerous other threads about homosexuality. I think you'll find them interesting. Also, if you feel like it and it would help, a poll would be okay, too.

I also encourage you to stay at RF - we love poeple who think for themselves

 

[anami]

Ok, I'm working on a research paper for a class in school concerning gay marriage. I want to know people's opinions on Homosexuality, gay marriage, and the goverments role in defining marriage. I would really appriciate it if you would take some time to explain your opinions in detail, and perhaps post your religious affiliation so I can better understand your beliefs and why you believe that way. Thanks.

I think it devalues marriage when you make it about being the "right" family type instead of love and respect. How can a rational society decide that one fraction of a society can be happy and another "not allowed" ?
Not that it doesn't allow that by a dozen other irrational reasons as well...

 

[Crystallas]

Well the big questions that I have had refering to living in the US with homosexual acceptance.
Of course nobody would ever know for sure the answer, but allways have an opinion and a guess.

How would you define sexual harrasment? How would this evolve?
How much faster would STDs be spread? This includes acceptance of more Bi-Sexual members of society.
How would the Military change for both men and women who want to serve? Dont ask, dont tell wont last forever.
With the amount of prejudice that will occur, how would homosexuals in general raise their children to seek their life partner?
Would the new traditions brought on by marriage change the way straight couples pass on family last names?
How would society seperate geographically? Will people that are public about their orientation be pushed away from diffrent areas of a city? And if so, would this cause violence?
Would children become store bought products since you would have to find sprem donors or seragent mothers?
Since aboptions rates would rise, will society find this to be a solution to individual responsibility to disband their children quicker? Also could this increase the abortion rate or decrease it?

Im not anti-homosexual, im all about people having a choice, but sometimes I think that illegal vs accepted = 2 diffrent things. If it stayed illegal, it would still become accepted more and more, and if it became legal, it seems like we would see a lot more violence from domestics and foriegn terrorists.
To me having it stay illegal just tests couples all that much more, and makes them sure of it when they find a place to get married, and its truelly beautiful how they have to earn it together...which is something straight couples dont have, and I have my share of close gay friends that tell me that they like how things are just for the fact of them having to earn what they want and making it even more special than it would have been if it was legal and accepted.

 

[phernduke]

Well I am anti-homosexual, though I do not hate the person, but his/her actions. God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve, and since the foundation of the Bible its been always relationships with a man and a women, now the Bible speaks of Soddom and Gomorrah and what happened to those who practiced that horrible act.

Therefore as the church today, should we accept, what is going on and live with it?

NO

As christians we need to be in the world but not of the world, and examples to others. Therefore we cannot stand for evil, for what does light have with darkness?

Many people believe that AIDS came about because of Homosexuality, I wouldn't say this is particularly true, but as we see in the bible that this practice is sinful.

Does this mean they cannot be saved?

NO

For all have fallen short of the glory of God, no one is righteous no not one

Why we were still sinners Christ died for us Romans 5:8

As christians we cannot compromise our stance on homosexuality, we can have love for the person, but not the sin.

-Chris

 

[Mr Spinkles]

The emerging acceptance of both gay marriage and the eating of mayonnaise just goes to show that gross acts are becoming commonplace in liberal America.

Let's face it: two women or two men having sexual relations, and the consumption of mayonnaise are just plain gross. It's not natural. Human genitalia are designed to go with a single partner of the opposite sex, and our digestive systems have not yet evolved the capacity to absorb mayonnaise properly. Homemade mayonnaise isn't even cooked. (How sick is that?!)

So no, I do not think gay marriage/mayonnaise eating should be legal. They are abominations that should be outlawed....that is, unless you want to see two guys holding hands, and children putting mayonnaise onto their sandwiches, or maybe even guys holding hands while pouring jar after jar of mayonnaise all over each other, kissing each other and eating mayonnaise at the same time. Well, if that's the kind of world you want to live in, then go ahead--make gay marriage and mayo consumption legal. Just don't say I didn't warn you.

 

[Sunstone]

Personally, I don't buy into the notion that eating mayonnaise is something that some people are born to do, Spinks. I think it's a choice. A vile choice that all right thinking individuals abhore. The bible, while apparently not explicitly condemning it, ought to explicity condemn it. In fact, I'm sure there's a verse or two of the King James Version that can be righteously interpreted to condemn eating mayo, if we'd only look hard enough. Isn't salt one of the ingredients of mayo? And wasn't Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt? Zounds! What graver evidence do we actually need that mayo is an abomination to the lord?

 

[michel]

Well...I agree with Maize, truthseekingsoul, Jensa, Draka, Sunstone, Engyo - and you!

I encourage you to check out the numerous other threads about homosexuality. I think you'll find them interesting. Also, if you feel like it and it would help, a poll would be okay, too.

I also encourage you to stay at RF - we love poeple who think for themselves

Heck, this is going to sound lame - almost like a game of Chinese whispers, but I go along with Maize, truthseekingSoul, Jensa, Draka,Sunstone,Engyo,Prima, and you !(I am so glad I am not the 45th poster on this thread!)

From the way you described how you formulated your own beliefs, you sound mature and methodical in the way you think - your ideas and beliefs should be interesting to hear. Welcome.

 

[Melody]

The emerging acceptance of both gay marriage and the eating of mayonnaise just goes to show that gross acts are becoming commonplace in liberal America.

Speak for yourself, Spinks! I support mayo. Miracle Whip...blech!

 

[Melody]

Don't worry. Christianity and nonthinking are highly compatible.

That's not always true, but in any case, *my* "not thinking" about it affects nobody but me.

 

[Original Freak]

I'm with the majority here. I have no issues with gay marriage. I think homosexuals should have the right. I also think organizations shouldn't be forced into marring gays if they feel it's wrong.

As for the argument that gay marriages may cause unacceptance and violence, that just comes from the closed minded fundamentalist thinking that has been holding back society for thousands of years and refuses to stop now. Forcing your opinions upon others and condemening them for not thinking how you do :tsk:

 

[Lycan]

I have no problem with gay marriage, straight marriage, or even mayo (taken in moderation). I think the problem society has with gay marriage is that they are still clinging to the notion that a family is a mommy, a daddy, 2.5 kids and a dog. I don't think people are willing to open their eyes and face reality and the changes in family structures. It is no longer the age of leave it to beaver and people (fundies mostly) hate that "their world is falling apart". The death grip will loosen eventually I think and we will all be better for it. As for my religious beliefs, Asatru is my faith and it doesn't really mention women, but looks down on males that are on the receiving end of anal sex, not for being homosexual, but because it puts them in a submissive position. Norse men were (are) very "manly men" and it was/is seen as dishonorable to submit to another. Be it in battle or in bed. I, myself, believe that ALL people should have the same rights and priviledges, be in marriage, benefits, etc.