(If this topic proves to controversial, feel free to take it down. But considering that we got away with not 1 but 2 abortion topics, I don't think it will be that bad...)

What is your opinion on gay marriage? Are you for or against it, and for what reason?

I suppose that's about as simple as I can put it.

I for one, am all for it.

I believe people should be allowed to marry whoever they truely love, gay, bi, straight, or whatever someone may be. Stopping someone from being with who they want to be with is wrong. The decision should be up to individuals. Thats my stance.

I'm for gay marriage, as I am for most people being allowed to express their love for one another. People liken gay marriage to the stupidest of things, but in the most basic sense of the situation, marriage is when two consenting adults choose to express their love to one another in a ceremony of faithfulness and commitment.

People claim that marriage is for reproduction - no, that's what sex is for.

People claim that since homosexuals can't have children, they should not be allowed to marry - does that mean that anyone who is sterile due to any number of reasons should also not be allowed to marry?

People claim that homosexuality is a sin in God's eyes, and therefore to allow homosexual marriages is a sin - but weren't there marriages before Christianity? And isn't the United States (where I live) a country where church and state are separate?

People also claim that homosexual marriage isn't moral. But, at the same time, we allow people to take their clothes off in front of strangers, poison themselves with cigarettes and alcohol, and say whatever they want, whenever they want (yes, there are certain things that it's illegal to say, but these are few and far between). So how are these actions more moral than people committing themselves to one another?

Now, should gay people have special rights? I'm sorry, no. No one should have special rights over others. We are either all equal, or we are more equal than others. And, as our constitution states, all men are created equal.

I'm in an awkward position considering same-sex marriage.
Through much consideration throughout the years, I believe I've come to a respectable decision.

I am wholly supportive of the gay society; being an advocate myself, it's hard not to be. XD When it comes to same-sex relationships--or any relationships, for that matter--, I believe that love should be able to be expressed/celebrated no matter it's conditions.

My political stand on same-sex marriage: the government should ALLOW same-sex marriage and fully recognize it. However, churches, I believe, should be ALLOWED not to condone a religious same-sex marriage.

Basically, as a human marrying another human, I believe the state/nation should give married gays equal rights as any other married couple. Civil unions should, unquestionably, be legal.

However, the church holds the right to wed, or not wed, the couple in a religious ceremony (just as a church holds the right to not hold a religious ceremony for a Catholic marrying a Lutheran, etc.)

Again, it's an awkward position to be in and it's hard to explain, but this is my platform.

I say, 'Yay'.

I agree, that they shouldnt have special privledges, just like how straight couples dont have special privledges. It's all about equality in my books.

It's the person's decision to marry or not. In both hetero couples and homosexual couples.
And I guess it shouldnt bother people if there is a gay married couple.

I say yay to it, I mean, what gives us the right to ban something like that? Isn't this America? Land of the free? If it is then I think it should be legal.

Oddly enough...I'm bi-sexual and I don't approve of gay marriage.. Rather contradicting, but it is so. I find it degrading to ones self.. I think you can have one of the same gender for pleasure, but we are animals..we're supposed to breed..Such is why the female has a vagina and the male has a penis that has skeet. But all in all..

Same Sex = Pleasure Only
Opposite Sex = Relationship

And thus you have my opinion on this. =]

I've got mixed feelings on it. I have no quarrel with homosexuality, or any homosexual people out there. If they feel attracted to people of the same sex, there's no problem with that. In anycase, homosexuality has existed since the dawn of time, so I wouldn't get oo upset about it.

Now, homosexual marriage ... I think legal marriage needs to be legal, the state has to acknowledge that in our day and age, some people wish to be with same sex partners. However, church marriages are down to the church to decide. Religion has long been against such things, and knowing how well religion adapts to modern times (irony), I doubt they'll legalise marriages in their establishments any time soon.

One thing I am FIRMLY against is same-sex couples adopting children. It's not right, to me; the kid will grow up with everything he's being taught constantly thrown out of the window. I really don't think homosexual couples would want to inflict such an emotional trauma upon a child they wish to adopt, it's just not right to me.

I was raised, seeing parents as being two people who loved each other. I was growing, learning of how marriage was about marrying the person you love.

Love binds many people, and in many mindsets of different individuals, marriage is the strongest symbol of love. And all in all, we live in an iconic world.

I believe that it matters not what race or gender you are, but that you love each other. And I believe that you should strongly have this person be yours based on compatibility- emotional and mental compatibility- and the rest is up to you to solve.

But I think that people who hate gay marriage are completely dumbfounded in their own damn stupor. I myself, am not gay nor am I bisexual, but I have met so many great people who are, with great relationships. And trust me- if you hate a gay, they hate you back. So why worry about them invading your gender? They're leaving you the hell alone, if you just say so.

Not the point- we are all people, no matter our dress, or our words. No matter what we say or think, or even how we act. We are animals in itself, we act on these behaviors. Why not express one of the world's strongest emotions as best we can? We can.

Why can't they do it too then?

I think that it doesn't matter so much whether or not you think it should or should not happen, but do you think that it should or should not be outlawed.

I admire my father for this that he taught me: He is COMPLETELY against homosexuality and thinks that gay mairrage is wrong. But in the United States, he believe that it should be legal. It is not a religious joining that they are asking for, there are certain rights your wife/husband has, for instance receiving your things if you die or having the choice on whether or not you should be taken off life support. Important things. And we are supposed to have freedom of religion. Being against homosexuality is strictly because of religion for him, and he recognizes this. And he says no one can force him to be Catholic or go to a certain church. No one can force him to give to the church when he doesn't want to. He has religious freedom, why can't others?

There is nothing wrong being gay because there is nothing wrong with love. If they want to express this via marriage, I find them un-original But this doesn't mean they can't do it.

The point is, it's not our choice to decide, it's dopwn to the individual and the options should be open and equal so that they can decide un-hindered.

As for religion, any religion that prohibits a form of happiness or compassion needs re-evaluation.

I was Catholic once upon a time and believed in a God who loved everyone equally. Except gay people? The Bible was written by people, and is therefore fallible. The Bible was written by people, and therefore can be altered. We have no proof it's the word of any being except human. Frankly if you can say in the same breath that a god loves everyone and forbids homosexuality, you've gone wrong somewhere along the line.

(Besides that, the Bible has been heavily and lazily translated from Greek scripts and has been at fault for a very long time, it has also been altered and doctored by it's followers to suit power-mad and corrupt fools. The one thing we can take from it with any credibility, is that, provided there is a God he loves us all and just wants us to be happy. Including gay people.)

True Grave wrote:Gayness disgusts me to begin with, so I do not support gay marriage. It, and everything else about homosexuality, is wrong. I know that probably makes me unpopular in many of your eyes, but whatever. I am of the Christian religion (another strike against me for most of you), and I believe that God's will was that man and woman should be together in marriage. If you're homosexual, you can be together. But, do not defile what I see as a beautiful and glorious thing. Well, the wedding usually is, anyway. That is my opinion, like it or loathe it.

Actually, I think most people on the forum are christian, and a good amount seem to be avid christians, so don't feel like people (or atleast most people) on the forum will hold that against you.

What disgusts you about homosexuality? Do you just think it's kind of gross or do you think it's morally wrong?

I'm not even talking about church marriages. If the church doesn't want to marry them, it has the right to simply refuse to grant them that. However, I believe state marriages should be allowed. In this, and many other countries, married couples gain all sorts of benefits. in this day and age, marriage isn't really about what they can produce through procreation, (after all, sterile people are alowed to marry, as previously mentioned) it's about their right to these benefits which would improve their lives. For example, what happens if one partner is sick, and the other can't see him/her in the hospital because he/she isn't family, how would that feel?

@Selothi: How do you know that being raised by a gay couple will mess up a kid? It might be more confusing than being raised by a straight couple, but how can we be sure that it will actually mess up that child. Also, what would happen if that gay couple couldn't adopt that child, and it was left in the orphanage, wouldn't that mess the kid up more?

True Grave wrote:I actually find it both morally wrong and gross. I think gayness should ot be a public thing. I also don't believ they should be married, based on my religion and personal opinion. What's wrong with common-law marriage. where you live together? Also, I see these gay weddings in the newspaper and want to puke. It isn't right, and I feel like I'm the only one who feels that way. I'm sorry if you're for it, but I never will be. I do not hate homosexuals as people. I simply dislike their sexual choices and the lifestyle that is sweeping America and the world.

Don't worry, I posted this for a rational discussion, we won't persecute you for your beleifs, we'll try to understand why you feel that way, and try to make you understand why we feel this way.

Now, do you feel it's morally wrong because you feel your religion condemns it, or is that only the reason why you don't support gay marriage. I can sort of see what you're getting at, but doesn't the bible, in additon to the constant condemning of homosexuality, explictly state 'spare the rod, spoil the child'? It is a massivly important book, but it was written, translated and kept by infallible man. So just like the aforementioned quote, it most likely picked up some of the social biases of older times.

Also, do you think being gay is a choice? I've talked to many homosexuals, and read up alot on the subject, and from my understanding, whether it's caused by nature or nurture, it doesn't seem to be a choice. There are plenty of people who would rather not be gay due to how they're treated, but can't change. In addition, there are a surprising amount of gay sheep.

True Grave wrote:I actually find it both morally wrong and gross. I think gayness should ot be a public thing. I also don't believ they should be married, based on my religion and personal opinion. What's wrong with common-law marriage. where you live together? Also, I see these gay weddings in the newspaper and want to puke. It isn't right, and I feel like I'm the only one who feels that way. I'm sorry if you're for it, but I never will be. I do not hate homosexuals as people. I simply dislike their sexual choices and the lifestyle that is sweeping America and the world.

First question: Do you live in The US?
If so: Do you think that gay marriage should be legal?
Second question: Do you believe that other public displays of affection should be banned, or just homosexual ones?

First comment. Don't apologize for your opinion, for your phrasing and word choice.
Also, Common Law marriages don't get the same privileges as legal ones.

Lastly, sweeping the world? I am of the firm belief that there are just as many homosexuals now as there have ever been, they are just more open about it or admit it to themselves more often since they are more widely accepted. I don't think it is going to 'take over', I think the graph of growth will top out eventually. Humans do have a reproductive drive, ya know.

If not, whose to say that the rise in homosexuality isn't natures way of thinning our ranks? If we don't stop populating soon, then we are going to run out of resources and many more will die.

Gay people herald a whole-hearted 'YAY' from me. I'm (probably) bisexual, and am also an atheist, and I can't stand people who look down on gays.
That being said, I advise True Grave to define 'normal', and also to go watch 'RENT'.