Gay Marriage and the Morality of it All

My country already has.

Things are going well with it.

Pretty much

10%

69%

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=what+percent+of+americans+are+religious&oq=percent+religious+americans&gs_l=hp.1.1.0i30j0i8l2j0i8i30.29449.31261.2.34851.9.9.0.0.0.2.279.1668.0j6j3.9.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.5.psy-ab.XOW5Me-uumU&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.43287494,d.aWM&fp=cc1c347763057d10&biw=1242&bih=829

.,give or take 2.2%

Diffficult

http://www.google.ca/#hl=en&sclient=psy-ab&q=legal+opinion+on+gay+marriage&oq=+legal+opinion+gay+marriage&gs_l=hp.1.0.0i7i30j0i8i30j0i8i7i30.16365.17639.10.27019.2.2.0.0.0.0.177.291.0j2.2.0.les%3B..0.0...1c.1.5.psy-ab.vCaqyh6dwXI&pbx=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.&bvm=bv.43287494,d.aWM&fp=cc1c347763057d10&biw=1242&bih=829


I could care less

That's great to hear. Would you mind sharing what country you are from and why you think that your country has accepted gay marriage while some countries have not yet come to accept this institution?

Recently a news article from USA today has been published announcing how the Supreme court case involving a lesbian couple in Michigan over the case of joint custody of their three children which the women adopted separately. In the article, it is mentioned that the judge presiding over the case is not using his opinion as a factor for the case. Do you think that this is how court cases over gay rights should be held, without holding the personal opinion of the judge ruling over the case into account? Do you think that the ruling in this case should be focused on what is best for the children, or do you think gay rights will take over the issue? Joseph Potchen, one of the lawyers representing the women in the case, said that the best way for the women to get custody, they should let the people of Michigan decide the issue, not the federal courts and they should go to the state legislature to appeal to their case. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/07/michigan-gay-marriage-ban/1970305/

Of course not Rk and that's why there's a Supreme Court

I think that eventually the country will accept gay marriage, but it will take time for people to come around to the idea. Once the younger generation becomes the generation in power I think that a lot of change will occur, because from my personal experience this generation seems extremely open minded.

I think this issue is largely influenced by religion, and people need to learn not to project their personal beliefs onto others.

Gay marriages are just as legitimate. If you have found someone you love so much that you want to devote yourself to that person for the rest of your life, then that's wonderful, and the gender of the individuals involved does not take away from that.

On March 7, USA News today wrote a small article about Bill Clinton wanting to overturn a bill that he signed in 1996 preventing recognition of same sex marriage by the federal government. He says that it was a mistake to sign the law because it goes against everything that the Constitution stands for, about the freedom that is associated with it. He says that the law gives people the excuse to continue to discriminate against gays. Do you agree with this statement? Do you then think that a simple solution to solve our problem would be to create a law that accepts gay marriages as equal to different sex marriages? Would gay marriages be accepted better?

I completely agree with your points. I feel that the older generation is more close minded when it comes to this issue that we are, simply because of that generational gap. Our generation and their generation have been exposed to different things and our experiences have allowed us to become more open-minded. Not to say that everyone in our generation is open to the idea, but relatively, I would say that our generation is more accepting.

Religion has played a large part on the issue of gay marriage, and while I value the importance of religion, I feel that many people use religion as a shield or an excuse as to why they don't approve of gay marriage. They use religion and their own personal beliefs to go against gay marriage. The irony is however, that people use the Bible to fight against gay marriage, but the Bible, and Christianity in general, tells us to love one another and to accept one another.

I think that the US is pretty has pretty much fully accepted gay marriage. The transition will take a few more years, but the battle is over.

I think American's opinion about gay marriage is almost solely influenced by television. Once homosexuals were positively portrayed on sit-coms the fight was won. Compared to the influence of television over the American mind, nothing else comes close.

I think that marriage is obsolete for homosexuals and heterosexuals alike. Hopefully we will continue to move toward delegitimizatizing the institution as a whole.

@maxdancona I agree with your statement about the effect that television has had on the perception of homosexuality. With shows like Modern Family and The New Normal portraying gays in a positive light, people have been more accepting of them and are more open to them being able to get married and having children. But I also feel that the battle will not be over until all 50 states have accepted gay marriage.

While I do acknowledge that the younger generation does seem more open-minded, that is often the case. People often refine their beliefs and become more and more conservative as they grow older and tie themselves more firmly to the values with which they were raised.

Of course, changes will come into play as the younger generation comes into power, and it is very likely that we will move toward a more liberal society. I agree with your stance on the legitimacy of gay marriage, and I'm eager to see what changes occur as generations grow older!

An article on ABC News stated the gay rights movement in China. "Of all the ways a son can be disrespectful to his parents, argued the ancient Chinese philosopher Mencius, the worst is to have no offspring." This is the traditional Chinese mentality that has caused parents of gays and lesbians to contact the government to give their children the right to legally get married and have children to keep in line with this tradition. They demand that their children are given the same rights as heterosexuals, and given the same rights as married couples would have as well. They want their children to be able to marry the person they love and be given the legal rights of marriage, the ability to legally authorize medical treatment for their partners, the right to adopt children, inherit their partner's assets in case of their death, or buy an apartment together as a couple. Do you think that fight for gay rights in China will be successful? Do you think that they better fought for gay rights than those of us America? Do you find it interesting how parents of gay children have played a strong role in the gay rights movement?

@rkj5388 While I am not Chinese myself, I think it's very interesting to to see such a seemingly intimidating and traditional culture fight for rights that can be deemed as "non-traditional." Considering all the length that the Chinese are going to, they are definitely getting closer to their goal and hopefully their children will be able to have the same rights as the rest of us. It's not necessarily who fought "better" but it's based on who gets the results and who actually puts the effort into getting rights for the gay community. Hopefully they will get to the point where all this fighting will actually get to become a reality.

Max a very profound observation and one that might warrant a separate OP. I have often wondered whether marriage (obviously a pretty unsuccessful institution of purely religious origin) should warrant any sort of legal status whatever, except possibly as entails the care of a child

"I think that the US is pretty has pretty much fully accepted gay marriage."
I wish, but I know at least a dozen people who don't support gay marriage. I do beleive those types of peope will one day listen to reason, and the US population will eventually be able to accept (and support) gay marriage.

Yes, and we are getting there. Gays just needed a push from leadership in our country, like the president and Vice President. Since that time more and more people of prominence have come out endorsing same sex marriage.

rkj5388 wrote;


I would venture to say all three which means culture. Our society was up until a few years ago totally against Homosexual unions. There was the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy under Colin Powell. In 1998 Matthew Sheppard, a student at the University of Wyoming, was beaten, left tied to a fence in the winter time, later dying from his wounds. During the AIDS surge many in the Gay community were treated like lepers, and some families kicked their children out of the home, thinking they were freaks. The Church spoke out against homosexuality, so I would say, our cultural society played a pronounced role in how Gays were perceived.

rkj5388 wrote:


In my personal opinion, I don't see why not once laws have been established legalizing said unions. Throughout most of our society only the union of a man and a woman has been recognized as a true marriage and that was to produce children, but there are many single homes with children who grow up in a healthy atmosphere and are well-functioning human beings. The "androgynous" type of person, having a somewhat hard to define ambiguous sexual identity, has often been shunned, although societal attitudes towards homosexuality vary greatly in different cultures.

There are the traditional American homes with mother and father and the home may sometime be dysfunctional. Marriage doesn't necessarily mean one has to have children....people marry because they love one another and marriage often bring the two closer. Also, same sex marriages may righteously leave their material assets to each other or make life and death decisions regarding each other.