Terralthra wrote:Alyrium Denryle wrote:I know gay marriage issues like the back of my hand (actually working on a huge reply to this thread right now...) and this is deeply deeply personal.
That's part of what I'm concerned about, to be frank. When you're personally involved in a debate, you sometimes get a bit irrational.
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Not me...
I dont have to get irrational to win.
I live in California, and I'm voting "Yes" on prop 8.
Well first of all. Fuck you, right in the ear.
I don't think they should be denied any of the rights that they enjoy under California state law, which are equivalent to married couples.
Except that they are not, which is why gay people brought the matter in front of the supreme court in the first place. Civil unions and domestic partnerships do not actually provide the same benefits as marriage, both from a functional or social standpoint (see Brown v. Board of Education)
I repeat, proposition 8 does not diminish in any way the rights of same-sex couples, but defines what marriage is.
Except that it does, you lying or ignorant (take your pick) sack of shit. Additionally creating a legal term that is separate from marriage denotes that I am in a separate and therefore inferior social class.
By saying that I should not be able to get married you are essentially telling me that I am inferior and not worthy of real marriage, but because you wish to patronize me you will give me the same benefits (even though in reality civil unions do not create those same benefits, only some of them and unlike marriage do not transfer from state to state should prior to the blatantly unconstitutional Defense of Marriage Act of 1996)
I believe that marriage should be defined as between a man and a woman, regardless of their religion.
Why? Because you want to impose your religious views on everyone else? What about people who's concept, religious or civil does not actually specify or care? Even christian churches such as the metropolitan community church, or church of christ, or the unitarians. What about them?
Marriage was an institution of Jewish law and part of dozens of cultures long before the Christian era.
No... marriage has been a part of pretty much every culture the world has ever seen and has included a lot of variation. But so long as you are on the judeo-christian track...
The traditional marriage you refer to was also an arranged marriage that basically made women into property. But of course you conveniently forget that. Just because something is traditional does not make it correct. Is there some objective standard by which you are making this judgement other than wanking about a false caricature of
Forgive me for not listing every single culture that recognizes an institution of marriage
You dont get to say that marriage is specifically a hebrew thing, and respond this way when challenged. Sorry. Doesnt work like that.
If same-sex couples already enjoy the same rights that married couples have
We dont
then I can only conclude that their desire to have marriage defined in their favor is so that they can feel an acceptance and assurance that what they're doing is condoned by society at large. I don't condone changing the definition of marriage and if that makes me in favor of inequality then so be it.
Heaven forbid we want to be socially equal and thus not second class citizens. Fuck you. Also, you have yet to actually justify
No, it doesn't.
Why should a civil and legal ceremony then, be constrained by the same religious strictures as a marriage at your church?
As you said, it's a symbolic preference on my part and I don't believe that defining marriage as between a man and a woman does anything to reduce anyone's constitutional rights or demote their welfare.
Except for the brown v board of education thing.
What do these people and their traditional symbolism matter? They can keep it. They can keep their religious ceremony and their feelings of superiority. I dont give a shit. They can rationalize my marriage away as being something secular and thus inferior. But when it comes to the state officially sanctioning that bigotry, that is another matter, because the state shouldnt care, because we have this thing called a constitution and a 14th amendment
Since you can't have a religious marriage without a civil recognition they're connected in that respect.
Actually, you can. You can get married in a church and never have that marriage recognized by the state and vice versa.
I don't hate gay people, but I also don't condone homosexuality.
How does that make any sense? What exactly do you find objectionable about being gay?
I don't approve of Gay marriage but I support full rights as domestic partners and would vote against any law to reduce those rights.
And prop 8 would do just that because domestic partnerships in CA do not provide equivalent legal protections