I consider myself very conservative. I am not gay or bi-sexual in any way. I have been married three times and divorced three times. Each time I got married and divorced I had to pay and get permition of the government.

This is supposed to be a free country. I should be free to do anything I want as long as it does not interfere with someone else's right to be free. This should be the case even if I do not agree with that person's lifestyle and beliefs.

To start with this is not and should not be a federal issue. Under the Constitution this is clearly a state government decision. The federal government has overstepped its authority of issues that should be left up the the states to many times.

I do not agree with the gay lifestyle but they do not agree with everything I do either. In this country it supposed to be OK to be different. Just because I do not agree with someone who is different than me does not mean there should be a law against it.

An adult citizen in this country should be free to marry anyone they want and the government does not have the right to tell them they can not. Government should not regulate morality. We condemn other countries who make laws of morality we do not agree with.

Bottom line I should be able to marry anyone I want as long as they agree to marry me. If I want to marry my horse that is my business and not the government. I do not want to marry my horse by the way this was ment to be an example only.

I agree with your point of view. That is one of the main reasons bush lost me as a supporter, who in their right mind would try to pass a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. It all pretty much comes down to is our leaders religion and the cost of allowing homosexuals to have marriage tax cuts.

I was married once and got divorced.
I now share a house and life with a woman. Here I say wife but at home I just use her name.

When I was a kid I had racist and sexist points of view. Never based on religion but just based on stupid macho BS.

As I grew older I realized that I had no right to crush other people and prevent them from being happy.
And being this way has made me happier because I like being fair and just. I hate being repressive.

Raven,

You have missed some points.

Marriage stems from religion + Religion is against homosexuality = Homosexuals should not marry.

Okay, having said that, I agree with 'unions' between homosexual people. They should be given the same tax breaks, rights to see people in hospitals, and everything else granted by Government for married couples.

But that does not mean they should be 'married'.

You have to separate those terms to have a discussion on this subject.

Also, I'm against you marrying your horse or a union between you and your horse because that would require government assistence for you and your horse. If someone (you) loves a horse - just share a special bond and leave the slip of paper out of it

Your comments are welcomed since I hope this gives you another perspective.

Sox

Oh...last point:

This is a state issue.

Sox

I really couldn't care less if gay people want to get married. If that makes them happy, great.

The problem with that argument Sox, is that there are many many marriages that occur outside of the religous realm. Should we ban atheists from getting married?

MArriage is not solely a religious ceremnoy, thats why people can go to city hall and get married.
I understand your view on how it stems from religion, many aspects of our culture does because our country was founded on religion.
Our country was also founded by people that wanted to be able to do and believe as they pleases without fear of prosecution, why should it be any different from homosexuals.
It is also my opinion that we have a minority of people, who make laws and hold office that base much of what they do on their religion(IE the president) which is understandable because religion is a big part of their lives( i can respect that) but they are controlling a majority of people who dont agree with their views.
I feel that since bush came in to office the mixture of church and state has become ever more prevalent and I for one do not fully agree with it.
This is my own personal view however and I understand that people have different views/beliefs and I can respect those, just so long as you can entertain my idea too.

What's next? A ban on white socks?

An amendment to the Constitution was meant to preserve and guarantee rights, not take them away. Didn't anyone learn from the Eighteenth Amendment?

Either allow all marriages, or ban all marriages. Equal rights means everybody is equal. It's difficult to even think that in 2004, people are trying to make laws promoting predjudice and bigotry.

What will these morons come up with next? Maybe go back to the early to mid 20th century. Seperate taxi-cabs, water bubblers, bathrooms for all who are racially, religiously, economically or have sexual preferences different than others?

Sox is right. It is a State's Rights issue:

Tenth Ammendment: The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.

For me it's not the particluar issue of gay marriage, it is the judicial branch overstepping their bounds of interpretting the constitution and legislating from the bench.

If we let a few APPOINTED judges, who have life terms, make the law of the land we are heading straight down the crapper.

I challenge anyone to show me in the constitution where it talks about same sex marriage rights or for that matter abortion rights.

It doesn't, therefore it's up to the states.

That should get a few people fired up.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Quebecmike:
I was married once and got divorced.
I now share a house and life with a woman. Here I say wife but at home I just use her name.

When I was a kid I had racist and sexist points of view. Never based on religion but just based on stupid macho BS.

As I grew older I realized that I had no right to crush other people and prevent them from being happy.
And being this way has made me happier because I like being fair and just. I hate being repressive.

---

I would say that sums up my thoughts/experience.

Well said - if more people espoused this philosphy we would have less strife and conflict.

I do not agree with gay marriage.

The whole idea that same sex can get married is based on their rights. But think about this, given all are adults, does a father have the right to marry his own daughter? Does a sister have the right to marry her brother? Do I have the right to marry multiple women? What would you say?

Marriage is not a civil rights, it is based on traditions from many culture (whether religious or not) and the traditions were based mostly on our value, or moral standard. I know the world has changed, but I preferred keeping the standard.

I also think that marriage could be a federal issue, becuase it does affect the federal tax, social security, and other issues related to federal government.

I am not against gay people as I do have good friends who are gay.

Raven, BarsNStars, QM,

Most of your comments have been far-right for me. I'm glad to say that I'm with you on this one.

A Scene at City Hall in San Francisco
---Author unknown
"Next."

"Good morning. We want to apply for a marriage license."

"Names?"

"Tim and Jim Jones."

"Jones? Are you related? I see a resemblance."

"Yes, we're brothers."

"Brothers? You can't get married."

"Why not? Aren't you giving marriage licenses to same gender couples?"

"Yes, thousands. But we haven't had any siblings. That's incest!"

"Incest?" No, we are not gay." "Not gay? Then why do you want to get married?"

"For the financial benefits, of course. And we do love each other. Besides, we don't have any other prospects."

"But we're issuing marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples who've been denied equal protection under the law. If you are not gay, you can get married to a woman."

"Wait a minute. A gay man has the same right to marry a woman as I have. But just because I'm straight doesn't mean I want to marry a woman. I want to marry Jim."

"And I want to marry Tim, Are you going to discriminate against us just because we are not gay?"

"All right, all right. I'll give you your license. Next."

"Hi. We are here to get married."

"Names?"

"John Smith, Jane James, Robert Green, and June Johnson."

"Who wants to marry whom?"

"We all want to marry each other."

"But there are four of you!"

"That's right. You see, we're all bisexual. I love Jane and Robert, Jane loves me and June, June loves Robert and Jane, and Robert loves June and me. All of us getting married together is the only way that we can express our sexual preferences in a marital relationship."

"But we've only been granting licenses to gay and lesbian couples."

"So you're discriminating against bisexuals!"

"No, it's just that, well, the traditional idea of marriage is that it's just for couples."

"Since when are you standing on tradition?"

"Well, I mean, you have to draw the line somewhere."

"Who says?! There's no logical reason to limit marriage to couples. The more the better. Besides, we demand our rights! The mayor says the constitution guarantees equal protection under the law. Give us a marriage license!"

"All right, all right. Next..."

Marriage is a great institution.
But who wants to live in an institution?
Badda bing badda boom.

I was waiting to buy a pack of REAS when I overheard a young woman saying how she was about be married and that is was "most important day of her life"

I like the naiveness of youth....

The kid spent all her life wondering if she would ever get married and then she'll spend the rest of her life wondering WTF she got married to the guy in the first place.

I like what I do. The woman does her thing. I do mine. We share house, bed, food, cigars, vacations and most of the money.
She doesn't like fishing, camping, scuba & smokeouts. GREAT!

I do not want to stop people from being together. If a man-man or woman-woman love each other, fine, but why must it be marriage?

Marriage is between a man and a woman.

A union can be between two adult individuals and share in the same Federal assistance.

This is my opinion.

If a state wants to grant them 'marriage', I'll accept it because it's the people's wish, but that does not mean each state much accept that marriage license.

Sox

This issue is kind of a tough one.

I have a cousin who is brain-damaged, the result of a virus. He married an epileptic woman also with brain damage. They cannot live independently, they need State assistance. Basically their relationship is kept afloat by the taxpayer and by the assistance of family members.

How is this a more valid or less valid marriage than two gainfully employed, fully-functioning men would be? Or two women?

I honestly think if the gay community lobbied in the states for civil unions, many states would grant it.

And I also think that by lobbying for "MARRIAGE" the gay community is gleefully prodding the folks who consider marriage a sacred, religious ceremony. The gay community delights in being a thorn in the side of conservatives, largely because historically conservatives have bashed gays and made them miserable. They want payback.

At some point the gay community will have to decide what they actually want -- legal status and tax breaks, or just to annoy their enemies.

I say let them get married, so they will know it's not as good as it's sounds

Is marriage really a religous thing, did not people get married before Christ? So did the Jews start it, if not who did some "sun worshippers" who certainly would not be considered a religon at least not in todays world. The whole institution sounds like a pagan ritual to me. Oh wait maybe it was a way for women to snag a supporter for her children at any rate not started by us christains.

"Marriage" only occurs between a man and a woman. You can call a dog a cat, but its still a dog. Calling it something else doesn't change what it is. Now if two men or two women want to enter into a civil contract..that's another issue....but its not marriage.

Gay people are allowed the same grief that many joke is the grief of marriage. I am not married yet (I'm 24) but I think that any two people who can make it work deserve to. They deserve the same rights as anyone else. Maybe I think this because one of my closest friends is gay, or maybe because I was taught everyone is the same; I don't see why this is a big issue (am I naive?). Let people be happy; it's not in your home, who cares?!? "Marriage" is just a word to me.

Vanessa

If you disagree, I respect your opinion, but unless you believe homosexuality is wrong as a whole, you have no right to disagree.