"Restricted" neighborhoods, social clubs (country, golf, etc), schools, college admission, employment . . .
If you want to address the question of why should gays be protected, you have to understand history of US law and government. All men are created equal and consent to being governed by a republican form of gov't. Will you let the landed gentry make the decisions, probably not. Eventually you realize the majority or a plurality should rule. Then people is the Government pick activist judges who decide they can overrule the U.S. congress (and majority rules) under certain circumstances. SEE Marbury vs. Marshall 1803 or something like that. For a while the court was conservative. Then it became liberal and activist. The court pretty much said when we have a compelling reason we will protect those who are oppressed. Basically protected classes are classes of people who have characteristics that can't be changed.. Skin color, national origin, sex. If you could just elect into the class by giving a hummer, does that seem fair to the concept of majority rule. If sexual acts cause you to be protected where do you draw the line. Golfers, rapists, Drinkers, drug users, Indian mesquite ingesters, People who make up their own cults, People who drive small cars, people who cant help themselves from molesting people. Come on why should who you CHOOSE to have sex with qualify for tax advantages, and make society change the definition of marriage. It is a big scam and it belittles real minorities.
ROFLMAO I guess this thread hit a nerve, it is now at 10 pages. I dunno, I know a lot of gay people and to most of them it is important to get married. And all the heterosexuals don't want to ever again tie the knot....go figure!:eek: :eek:
You also cant hide missing limbs. You also can hide your blindness. You also cant hide that your retarded. Of course you can compare these. The point is... being abornal in any way does not disqualify you from marriage. You have a problem with the fake lisp... so what... Some blacks speak in hip hop slang. Why does this matter? Does this disqualify you to marry or something? Kids is not the issue here. I plan never to have kids. So should I have my right to marriage removed? Dont think so. Why is it so important to marry??? Thats a funny question coming from someone who is defending traditional marriage so strongly. If its not such a big deal, then just let them marry and be done with it Did you ever consider that maybe its important to them to marry for the very same reasons its important for traditional couples to marry? Society contains many rituals which are important to people. Marriage is just one of them. People want to have an official ritualistic ceremony in front of all their friends for whatever reason. Again I ask... WHY deny this of two consenting ADULTS??? peace axeman
How two guys/women marry has little importance to the definition of my marriage ( I know what my marriage means to me and thats all that matters ) ....... Some hetereosexuals get married for convinience, Rich guy and some hot looking girl, no love no nothing ( Anna Nicole Smith ).... does that bother you that they are "changing the definition of marriage"?? Tax issues, i can understand.....many will marry on paper, big problem........peace
Actually, this went on for far longer than most people realize. And as for women's rights . . . Golfers, rapists, drinkers, and so on and far worse are all allowed to marry, have children if they like. And somehow I doubt that there will be a line around the block to enter into a same-sex relationship just to get a tax break. Would you dine on sausage and eggs just to save a few bucks?
How did this subject get so utterly twisted by the intolerance of people who really should have no interest at all in it? Alfonso and others are disgusted by gays. Fine. But what difference does it make to him if gays want to marry each other? How does this affect Alfonso? Why does it offend him? I must be missing something here. I myself do not wish to witness public displays of affection between homosexual couples. But I don't really want to see anything more than hand holding by heterosexual couples in public either. I don't want to see ANYONE having sex. Most people feel the same way. It isn't a spectator sport. Sex is a wonderful thing, but it should be, and in practical terms, virtually always is a private thing. While it shocked me years ago to see two men holding hands, I have grown calloused to it I suppose. And two women holding hands is not necessarily a clear indication of sexual preference. But no matter what, if people want to hold hands, how offended can someone else possibly be? What is the big deal? I have lived in both NY and San Francisco. Both cities with unusually high concentrations of gays. But still, I have never witnessed anything explicit enough to offend me. Certainly, anyone can seek out more explicit displays, but it is just that. You would have to make an effort to seek them out. You will not see anything explicit in the normal course of a normal day anywhere unless you want to. In any event, I have no understanding at all how people's sexual preference can possibly impact the lives of anyone but them. As far as the BS being flung around about gays being a minority, this is totally absurd. Does anyone really think that something like affirmative action will be inclusive of a group of people that are defined by their sexual preference? Unbelievable! And it is pathetic that anyone is dumb enough to actually give credence to the thought that people will commit what I guess would be fraud to "cash in" on being in the "gay minority". This makes less sense than just about any political argument I have read on Elite Trader ever. And I have seen some really dumb arguments. But this one truly takes the cake. Personally, I don't think gay marriage makes a lot of sense. After all, half of all marriages end in divorce. And divorce is more often than not an acrimonious event that no one wants to be subjected to. If two people love each other, that should be enough. Yes, if they want to have children together, than by our social standards, it is certainly easier on the child when the parents are married. But other than that, really, what is marriage other than a social contract? Answer: It is a legal contract. But not binding. So it becomes about legal benefits such as health care, etc., that have no impact at all on other people. What is the objection of a person like AAA or Alfonso, or anyone if gays get the same protection insofar as taxes and health care, and whatever other possible financial benefits marriage may bring to a gay marriage? How does this affect others? What is there to object to? Not liking something is one thing. If you are disgusted by what you believe to be abhorrent behavior, that is one thing. But these relationships are going to go on whether you like them or not. And behind closed doors. So why not accept that and let people live their lives on a level playing field? The whole issue is very confusing to me. But only in the respect of it being of any concern to anyone not directly involved. Someone mentioned Anna Nicole Smith marrying the old rich guy. While it may have been distasteful, what harm was there to anyone? To me, this, in it's worst light, is the same thing. You may find it offensive, but so what? How does it matter to you? Michelle
By the way I think I did leave religion out of the protected classes in my earlier post. And to be fair and before I am called out in it I should say that I guess you do choose your some religions and in some cases it is an ethnicity so I guess religion is a more analogous situation than say skin color. That is why lawyers get to go to appellate court. To compare and contrast categories and facts. P.S. regarding the post above. I have heard gay activists argue for affirmative action. If you have lived in a big city and read alternative newspapers you would have no doubt that there are all sorts of groups creating and supporting all types of agendas designed to change society. There are radical gay groups out to massively change the structure of society. And that is their right as long as it is peaceful. It is my job to be vigilant.
Generally speaking, you'll find that women have no problem with it. Men do. You can probably figure out why