again i have gay friends and oppose gay bashing and such.

At the same time i disagree with their choosen lifestyle but we don't discuss it.

I think there is a difference between disagreeing with their lifestyle and prohibiting them from marrying each other though.

There are plenty heterosexual couples I'd really prefer see not make out in the park as well as any homosexuals. People are going to do what gets attention.

If it wasn't against the law for them to marry, it wouldn't be as big a deal, you'd still see it just as much as you do already, and it wouldn't hurt anyone... regardless of whether we agreed with it or not. Allowing them to marry might very well stop the gay parades and special treatment. It's not like the world's going to go gay and you start seeing it everywhere. Gay people are already gay... period. They do what they do now likely only because it's taboo. Rid the taboo... rid the special attention, and you'll prob see it less. Prohibiting them from marrying isn't going to make them less gay... or more gay if you allow it. I mean come on...

We all have that choice... to agree or disagree... but to strip someone of their rights based on sexual orientation is in my mind no better than discrimination against race, creed, religion, gender, etc.

Exactly. The existence of a law and agreeing or disagreeing with what that law allows are 2 different things. It is legal to gamble, drink, and smoke in Atlantic City. I do not believe in regulating behavior through legal means, so I would not support making these activities illegal. That does not mean that I condone gambling, drinking, and smoking in Atlantic City. Just because the law says something is legal does not mean that I condone the activities that the law allows.

Legalizing something is the same as society condoning it.

I think that if a person decides that they are going to be gay, that is fine with me because their life is their life, it's not mine. But this is a direct reply to "imnuts" from the top of this thread: gay people being allowed to marry does affect the rest of us. They will get married and claim social security bennefits that will take away from the rest of ours. I've heard that as of right now, the IRS is not recognizing same sex marriages, but that will most likely change. So that will definitely change the tax situation for America.

Also, where will it end. If same sex marriages are allowed, then there might be brother-sister marriages also, which they will claim on bennefits that take away from hard working americans. I think that if this country allows same sex marriages, this country will only go further downhill.

Why is one homosexual marrying another homosexual any different tax wise than if they were to marry a heterosexual? It's just another couple in the eyes of the government...

again, for me it is the government condoning it.

And why shouldn't they? If it is a majority view that homosexuals should be allowed to marry (probably isn't... there are a load of ignorant people out there), then the government should condone it and allow it.

Anyway, you can't legislate preference. They're going to be homosexual whether the law allows them to or not. The best thing to do is let them and not cause any unnecessary tension.

well that is your OPINION. Which your entitled to but it is no more or less valid than my opinion.

Polls CONSISTENTLY show that the majority of Americans OPPOSE gay marriage. Many polls also appose civil unions for crying out loud.

So your saying that you want a small minority of people to be able to dicatate to the majority? That is NOT how democracy works.

Majority rules with respect to the minority last time i checked.

Umm...just jumpin' in here for a sec...the majority opposed allowing Blacks in the military, but it was allowed anyway. The majority opposed racial intermarriage, but it was allowed anyway. The majority opposed the civil rights movement, but in 1964 the laws were passed anyway.

Quote:

So your saying that you want a small minority of people to be able to dicatate to the majority? That is NOT how democracy works. Majority rules with respect to the minority last time i checked.

Sorry, but that is just not true. Many laws have been passed and many Supreme Court decisions have come down on the side of what was the minority opinion at the time. That is how our democracy works. If majority ruled with respect to the minority then Al Gore would be our President. He did win the popular vote.