Gay Marriage - Your Thoughts?

[Jubal]

...does anyone have any thoughts on this matter? It seems to be resurfacing in both the UK and US.

Mitt Romney has categorically stated that for him marriage is "between one man and one woman" whereas Obama has finally come down on the side of saying he believes it's important that LGBT couples should be allowed to marry. In the UK, it's becoming a tension between Liberals and Conservatives in the coalition government.

So, what are people's thoughts?

[comrade_general]

Voted yes. But if there was a "don't give a armadillo" option I would have went with it.

[Jubal]

That's the thing though, for me. I don't think it's my job to judge or decide on what people do in their private lives, therefore I think the state should give everyone all the options and let them choose what to do with them. It's not the government's job to interfere, therefore legalisation is the only sensible option.

[Phoenixguard09]

Ah now here's something interesting.

I'm not homophobic or anything but I don't think it should be legalised. The point of marriage is to celebrate a union if you will. Now as far as I'm concerned you can do what you like in privacy but as soon as you're in public you should be mindful of certain sensibilities. I am firmly of the opinion that homosexuality is abnormal behaviour and so shouldn't be celebrated. Sorry if this post is a little bit hard to understand, I'm not feeling all that flash.

[Marcus]

I would agree with Jubal and say yes to gay marriage. It really doesn't bother me what way people swing, they should have the same options and be treated the same way as anyone else. Of all the gay couples I know, I would not consider one of them to be 'abnormal'. Although one of them definitely did the gay thing in a big way when he came out, mainly to piss off his dad who though he was an abomination. I found it utterly hilarious.

[Jubal]

Marriage does indeed celebrate a union - I just don't see the difference really, if two people love each other then they should be given the legal means to celebrate it. I guess it's fair that if some religious groups etc hold views that say it shouldn't be celebrated it's their choice not to hold gay marriage ceremonies, but essentially I don't think that's the business of government either way and therefore legalisation is the only fair option.

[comrade_general]

Sounds legit, what the gays need to realize though is that they are not entitled to any special treatment or recognition. No more so than any other schmuck at most.

[Marcus]

Fair point, I do feel that some campaigners of LGBT or feminism etc. Do forget that ultimately the goal is equality, not preferential treatment. That just continues segregation, except the other way around. Of course there will be the doministic types that actually want that.

[Jubal]

I think it's more of a problem for feminists; I don't think I've ever heard an LGBT spokesman or person advocate preferential treatment. I agree though that the goal has to be equality under the law.

[comrade_general]

It's just that a lot of them are so up in everyone's face about it.

[Marcus]

Yeah, my issue with some gay rights campaigners is the blatant parade they put on. Yes, you're gay, that's absolutely fine, but don't keep going on about it for god's sake.

[Phoenixguard09]

In my opinion a gay marriage is just another gay parade just perhaps a little quieter and maybe a bit more tasteful.

I understand most people disagree with me but I guess it's just how I was brought up. That being said, I wouldn't discriminate against someone if they were gay although a guy did ask me out when I was in year 8. That was vaguely creepy.

[Jubal]

Yeah, well the whole Catholic thing is probably an influence.

That said, what's a normal marriage if not a straight parade? 

[comrade_general]

In my opinion a gay marriage is just another gay parade just perhaps a little quieter and maybe a bit more tasteful.

I kinda see and agree with your point here.

[Jubal]

I still don't see how this differentiates it from normal marriage, which is another overpriced parade to attempt to conform to a wholly unnecessary societal norm.

Also, we need to consider two forms of marriage: ceremonial and legal. I'm advocating that legally, people should have the rights to marry regardless of who they are as long as both can consent. This is because the government has no place in determining who lives, sleeps, etc, with who, therefore we should give them the full range of legal options to sort out how they do that. As for the ceremonies, again it should just be left up to individual groups to decide what they want to sing, dance, or make long droning speeches about.