It has no effect whatsoever. Divorce is a different matter. Saying gay people cannot consider themselves married is like saying that a non-Baptist church weakens the meaning of a church to Baptist people. Or that an Episcopal cathedral weakens the meaning and sanctity of a Catholic cathedral to catholics. Need to tear those pretenders down? Or can we just let other people worship as they please? (I know what sounds like America to me, and it's not tearing down churches.)
Why should religions have "ownership" over the term marriage? What if different religions have differing views on same sex marriages? Should we favor the views of one religion over another regarding marriage?
For those in favor of having govt. making both hetero and homo unions civil unions and not marriages, why weren't you up in arms about the govt. defining marriage benefits before homosexuals started pushing for their equal rights? It seems odd like it only became an issue that govt. was involved after same sex couples wanted the same rights. It seems transparent that in an effort to not seem discriminating, all of a sudden you can couch your argument in this way, when it was never an issue before.
this isn't a sporting match with a scoreboard. these are the rights of American Citizens we are talking about; giving the people of America the chance to vote on a civil rights issues has traditionally not gone well. If the people had their way, we'd still have slaves in certain areas of this country and a white person wouldn't be able to marry a black person. it's going to take some politicians with real dignity, and a president who can show some backbone on an issue like this. I'm not seeing that right now, and I'm certainly not relying on the apathetic voters of America to get something done about it. I think alot of apathy comes from a thought process of "if it doesn't affect me, why should I go out and vote..." on a hot topic matter like this and then you have the conservative movement pushing their agenda upon the voters of these 30 some-odd states the OP mentioned. I have gay friends and coworkers who i would like to one day attend their wedding if they so desire to spend their lives with the person they love. why is this country not allowing them to pursue those desires and God-Given Rights? why is that so difficult? how does the concept of two people marrying each other destroy the sanctity of marriage, the American Family, or more importantly, how does a couple of any race, creed, or sexual orientation marrying each other affect ANYONE who would vote against something like this?
Apparently you're not aware of this, but they let straight people stay in the military if they get married. That's not "Don't ask, don't tell."
some of you need to re-read the 14th amendment "no state shall ... deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws".
In a bizarre Orwelian reversal, Grizzled accuses gay rights advocates of being hateful and intolerant... Those nasty gays, always trying to bully millenia-old religions. How dare they push for the right to marry the person they love!
If gay people can't get married, then straight people shouldn't be allowed to get divorced. It's all about the sanctity of marriage, right?
Are you kidding? ... Or do you know something about the shriners and fire departments that the rest of us don't?
Do you think the word Ramadan belongs to the Muslim religion? Does the word Hanukah belong to the Jewish faith? If someone wanted to open an all pork buffet and call it kosher restaurant would you think that was ok? Think about it. Some words most certainly do belong to certain traditions. Are you familiar with the concept of cultural appropriation? That’s a related idea.
It's a sad day. I really thought this one would pass. It's a little reassuring to know that the day will come, but later is not better than sooner. Good news in Washington, though. It's funny that everything but using the word "marriage" passes but actually using that word leads to defeat. Who cares what it's called anyway? I never understood that argument. I think it's really just a faux argument to cover the real fear/hate that is ingrained in some people. I don't even think it is a conscious choice either, they really think the word matters, but in reality that is just the most convenient rationalization for an irrational position. I take solace in the fact that many good people who have done this have eventually come around to realize what the "right" answer is.
Legally or religiously? Neither really bothers me. I do however respect the view of the Catholic Church on the matter (like I RESPECT its view on premarital sex, abortion, socialism etc). If the church doesn't want to acknowledge a convent of gay marriage, then that is its prerogative. What bothers me is people on both sides trying to push their moral agenda to be enforced by the state.
But people on the pro-gay marriage side are not trying to push their moral agenda to be enforced by the state, they are trying to remove the states imposition of others' morals on them. The state prevents them from getting married because it offends the morals of some other groups. So if you're against the state enforcing moral agendas, I'd have to assume you're in against banning gay marriage.
It is obviously up to the church whether or not they want to allow gay marriage in their establishments, you can't force them to change their mind. I am just talking in general, why does it bother people so much? How does 2 dudes getting married affect anyone but those 2 dudes? I am a republican, but this is an issue that I feel is a basic freedom that needs to be enforced at the federal level.
