Let me clear a few things up here: I support gay marriage, and not for the reasons you think

[bodecea]

can you imagine if all Churches fought back, and only opened on Sunday Mornings for services, and no longer performed weddings?

Pretty much not a great deal. More and more people marry outside churches...and legal marriage doesn't require it.

 

[Rexx Taylor]

Bambi has no right to tell all churches when they have to be open. but he has no problem making his own vacation schedules.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

This is a story about how I had to deal with homosexuality in my own family. How I learned to be tolerant of homosexuals and homosexuality. My recent and very immature (even by my own standards) behavior in my Masha Gessen thread may have lead many of you to believe that my intentions regarding my support for gay marriage were not sincere. Trust me, they are. In fact, it runs in the family.

When I was in sixteen years old, my father thought I was old enough to handle the prospect of having a gay uncle. I wasn't. Far from it. I loathed and hated gays, I operated off raw emotion. Still, he sat me down and said "my brother, your uncle, Jared, is Gay, and he wants to meet you." My reaction was negative, though I hid it from him. I didn't want to say no, but I didn't want to say yes either. "Cool" I said. "How am I going to deal with this? I don't even like gay people!" I thought.

So, I asked my devoutly Christian grandmother to advise me on what I should do. I knew homosexuality was wrong to her, and to me as a Christian. But I was shocked to hear her say this: "love him anyway. You should go meet him." Who was I to argue with that? I let my dad know I was interested in meeting him, and so he arranged it. Little did I know I wouldn't ever get to. I was so ruled by the stereotypes given to homosexuals, I procrastinated in the beginning. And today I still regret that.

In the Spring of 2004, my uncle was murdered in North Carolina. When my dad broke the news, he was devastated. And I was filled with guilt, the guilt that I waited, and fought with my feelings too long. I never got to truly understand what it was like for someone who was gay, to be gay. My father told me that Jared had been doing drugs and had a deal go bad on him. I believed him at the time. Today though, when I think back on it, I know for a fact it was a hate crime. To this day I am still saddened by the fact I never got to see him.

I went on the next 8 years despising and loathing homosexuals, forgetting all my grandmother had taught me to do, and doing the exact opposite; forgetting about the death of my gay uncle who had died all because someone hated him for being gay. Then my views began to change. I started making gay friends, making efforts to understand them, to make strides to accept them. This year, an event occurred in my life that ultimately changed my views on gay marriage and gay people forever. It caused me to wrestle deep within myself on the moral implications of supporting gay rights, gay people, and gay marriage.

So, seeking out my grandmother's tutelage once more, I asked, "is it okay for me to support gay marriage?" She told me that while she thought it was wrong, she thought they should be treated the same as everyone else. When I asked, "what if someone running a bakery refused to serve a gay couple?" She again replied, if they're running a business, they should serve everyone equally. Well, with that having been settled, I chose to become a supporter of gay marriage.

Tonight, I am renewing that pledge with a new drive and determination. I strayed from the path I set for myself, and I will honor the memory of my uncle by standing up for the equal treatment of homosexual individuals in America. I dealt with an issue I was hardly prepared to handle 11 years ago, but I was taught that even if one of your own blood represents something you find sinful and wrong, you love them anyway.

I am standing firm on the fact that the 14th Amendment does in fact grant gays the right to marry, because you can't make laws that only pertain to one group over another. That's not fair. I agreed with the reasoning of the Supreme Court and I told my grandmother that. And tonight I discovered that Alexander Hamilton had written something interesting about the courts:

In Federalist 78, He wrote, "The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution." One can't argue with that. If a founding father said such a thing, how can I dispute that?

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to believe me, not after the stunts I've pulled tonight. But if you do, I won't let you down again.

Lot of text for 'as far as the government is concerned, marriage is simply an economic contract between two people. As such any two people legally able to enter into other contracts with each other must be allowed to enter into this one.'

 

[ChrisL]

This is a story about how I had to deal with homosexuality in my own family. How I learned to be tolerant of homosexuals and homosexuality. My recent and very immature (even by my own standards) behavior in my Masha Gessen thread may have lead many of you to believe that my intentions regarding my support for gay marriage were not sincere. Trust me, they are. In fact, it runs in the family.

When I was in sixteen years old, my father thought I was old enough to handle the prospect of having a gay uncle. I wasn't. Far from it. I loathed and hated gays, I operated off raw emotion. Still, he sat me down and said "my brother, your uncle, Jared, is Gay, and he wants to meet you." My reaction was negative, though I hid it from him. I didn't want to say no, but I didn't want to say yes either. "Cool" I said. "How am I going to deal with this? I don't even like gay people!" I thought.

So, I asked my devoutly Christian grandmother to advise me on what I should do. I knew homosexuality was wrong to her, and to me as a Christian. But I was shocked to hear her say this: "love him anyway. You should go meet him." Who was I to argue with that? I let my dad know I was interested in meeting him, and so he arranged it. Little did I know I wouldn't ever get to. I was so ruled by the stereotypes given to homosexuals, I procrastinated in the beginning. And today I still regret that.

In the Spring of 2004, my uncle was murdered in North Carolina. When my dad broke the news, he was devastated. And I was filled with guilt, the guilt that I waited, and fought with my feelings too long. I never got to truly understand what it was like for someone who was gay, to be gay. My father told me that Jared had been doing drugs and had a deal go bad on him. I believed him at the time. Today though, when I think back on it, I know for a fact it was a hate crime. To this day I am still saddened by the fact I never got to see him.

I went on the next 8 years despising and loathing homosexuals, forgetting all my grandmother had taught me to do, and doing the exact opposite; forgetting about the death of my gay uncle who had died all because someone hated him for being gay. Then my views began to change. I started making gay friends, making efforts to understand them, to make strides to accept them. This year, an event occurred in my life that ultimately changed my views on gay marriage and gay people forever. It caused me to wrestle deep within myself on the moral implications of supporting gay rights, gay people, and gay marriage.

So, seeking out my grandmother's tutelage once more, I asked, "is it okay for me to support gay marriage?" She told me that while she thought it was wrong, she thought they should be treated the same as everyone else. When I asked, "what if someone running a bakery refused to serve a gay couple?" She again replied, if they're running a business, they should serve everyone equally. Well, with that having been settled, I chose to become a supporter of gay marriage.

Tonight, I am renewing that pledge with a new drive and determination. I strayed from the path I set for myself, and I will honor the memory of my uncle by standing up for the equal treatment of homosexual individuals in America. I dealt with an issue I was hardly prepared to handle 11 years ago, but I was taught that even if one of your own blood represents something you find sinful and wrong, you love them anyway.

I am standing firm on the fact that the 14th Amendment does in fact grant gays the right to marry, because you can't make laws that only pertain to one group over another. That's not fair. I agreed with the reasoning of the Supreme Court and I told my grandmother that. And tonight I discovered that Alexander Hamilton had written something interesting about the courts:

In Federalist 78, He wrote, "The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution." One can't argue with that. If a founding father said such a thing, how can I dispute that?

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to believe me, not after the stunts I've pulled tonight. But if you do, I won't let you down again.

Lot of text for 'as far as the government is concerned, marriage is simply an economic contract between two people. As such any two people legally able to enter into other contracts with each other must be allowed to enter into this one.'

Well, that is not the case for everyone. For some, marriage is much more than that. I do agree that gays should be able to be married though.

 

[J.E.D]

I support gay marriage, and not for the reasons you think

Because it will inevitably lead to legal beastiality, which will enable you to marry your memaw's poodle?

 

[Wake]

I support gay marriage, and not for the reasons you think

Because it will inevitably lead to legal beastiality, which will enable you to marry your memaw's poodle?

What is wrong with you?

Don't have anything constructive to say, so you try to take a low-blow out on him?

Get out of here if you don't have anything worthwhile to say. If you have something of actual substance regarding his position, spit it out. Otherwise you're doing nothing but instantly making an ass out of yourself which, I would think, you'd learn not to do based on what others have been doing and hopefully learning from.

 

[Delta4Embassy]

This is a story about how I had to deal with homosexuality in my own family. How I learned to be tolerant of homosexuals and homosexuality. My recent and very immature (even by my own standards) behavior in my Masha Gessen thread may have lead many of you to believe that my intentions regarding my support for gay marriage were not sincere. Trust me, they are. In fact, it runs in the family.

When I was in sixteen years old, my father thought I was old enough to handle the prospect of having a gay uncle. I wasn't. Far from it. I loathed and hated gays, I operated off raw emotion. Still, he sat me down and said "my brother, your uncle, Jared, is Gay, and he wants to meet you." My reaction was negative, though I hid it from him. I didn't want to say no, but I didn't want to say yes either. "Cool" I said. "How am I going to deal with this? I don't even like gay people!" I thought.

So, I asked my devoutly Christian grandmother to advise me on what I should do. I knew homosexuality was wrong to her, and to me as a Christian. But I was shocked to hear her say this: "love him anyway. You should go meet him." Who was I to argue with that? I let my dad know I was interested in meeting him, and so he arranged it. Little did I know I wouldn't ever get to. I was so ruled by the stereotypes given to homosexuals, I procrastinated in the beginning. And today I still regret that.

In the Spring of 2004, my uncle was murdered in North Carolina. When my dad broke the news, he was devastated. And I was filled with guilt, the guilt that I waited, and fought with my feelings too long. I never got to truly understand what it was like for someone who was gay, to be gay. My father told me that Jared had been doing drugs and had a deal go bad on him. I believed him at the time. Today though, when I think back on it, I know for a fact it was a hate crime. To this day I am still saddened by the fact I never got to see him.

I went on the next 8 years despising and loathing homosexuals, forgetting all my grandmother had taught me to do, and doing the exact opposite; forgetting about the death of my gay uncle who had died all because someone hated him for being gay. Then my views began to change. I started making gay friends, making efforts to understand them, to make strides to accept them. This year, an event occurred in my life that ultimately changed my views on gay marriage and gay people forever. It caused me to wrestle deep within myself on the moral implications of supporting gay rights, gay people, and gay marriage.

So, seeking out my grandmother's tutelage once more, I asked, "is it okay for me to support gay marriage?" She told me that while she thought it was wrong, she thought they should be treated the same as everyone else. When I asked, "what if someone running a bakery refused to serve a gay couple?" She again replied, if they're running a business, they should serve everyone equally. Well, with that having been settled, I chose to become a supporter of gay marriage.

Tonight, I am renewing that pledge with a new drive and determination. I strayed from the path I set for myself, and I will honor the memory of my uncle by standing up for the equal treatment of homosexual individuals in America. I dealt with an issue I was hardly prepared to handle 11 years ago, but I was taught that even if one of your own blood represents something you find sinful and wrong, you love them anyway.

I am standing firm on the fact that the 14th Amendment does in fact grant gays the right to marry, because you can't make laws that only pertain to one group over another. That's not fair. I agreed with the reasoning of the Supreme Court and I told my grandmother that. And tonight I discovered that Alexander Hamilton had written something interesting about the courts:

In Federalist 78, He wrote, "The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution." One can't argue with that. If a founding father said such a thing, how can I dispute that?

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to believe me, not after the stunts I've pulled tonight. But if you do, I won't let you down again.

Lot of text for 'as far as the government is concerned, marriage is simply an economic contract between two people. As such any two people legally able to enter into other contracts with each other must be allowed to enter into this one.'

Well, that is not the case for everyone. For some, marriage is much more than that. I do agree that gays should be able to be married though.

ONLY issue the law can settle is the legal idea of marriage. Wanna oppose gay marriage you must use a non-legal arguement like religious. But the law isn't concerned with that. So short of coming up with a valid legal reason the state should forbid two people entering into a marital contract with one another you have zero chance of winning such arguements.

 

[J.E.D]

I support gay marriage, and not for the reasons you think

Because it will inevitably lead to legal beastiality, which will enable you to marry your memaw's poodle?

What is wrong with you?

Don't have anything constructive to say, so you try to take a low-blow out on him?

Get out of here if you don't have anything worthwhile to say. If you have something of actual substance regarding his position, spit it out. Otherwise you're doing nothing but instantly making an ass out of yourself which, I would think, you'd learn not to do based on what others have been doing and hopefully learning from.

Tissue?

 

[ChrisL]

This is a story about how I had to deal with homosexuality in my own family. How I learned to be tolerant of homosexuals and homosexuality. My recent and very immature (even by my own standards) behavior in my Masha Gessen thread may have lead many of you to believe that my intentions regarding my support for gay marriage were not sincere. Trust me, they are. In fact, it runs in the family.

When I was in sixteen years old, my father thought I was old enough to handle the prospect of having a gay uncle. I wasn't. Far from it. I loathed and hated gays, I operated off raw emotion. Still, he sat me down and said "my brother, your uncle, Jared, is Gay, and he wants to meet you." My reaction was negative, though I hid it from him. I didn't want to say no, but I didn't want to say yes either. "Cool" I said. "How am I going to deal with this? I don't even like gay people!" I thought.

So, I asked my devoutly Christian grandmother to advise me on what I should do. I knew homosexuality was wrong to her, and to me as a Christian. But I was shocked to hear her say this: "love him anyway. You should go meet him." Who was I to argue with that? I let my dad know I was interested in meeting him, and so he arranged it. Little did I know I wouldn't ever get to. I was so ruled by the stereotypes given to homosexuals, I procrastinated in the beginning. And today I still regret that.

In the Spring of 2004, my uncle was murdered in North Carolina. When my dad broke the news, he was devastated. And I was filled with guilt, the guilt that I waited, and fought with my feelings too long. I never got to truly understand what it was like for someone who was gay, to be gay. My father told me that Jared had been doing drugs and had a deal go bad on him. I believed him at the time. Today though, when I think back on it, I know for a fact it was a hate crime. To this day I am still saddened by the fact I never got to see him.

I went on the next 8 years despising and loathing homosexuals, forgetting all my grandmother had taught me to do, and doing the exact opposite; forgetting about the death of my gay uncle who had died all because someone hated him for being gay. Then my views began to change. I started making gay friends, making efforts to understand them, to make strides to accept them. This year, an event occurred in my life that ultimately changed my views on gay marriage and gay people forever. It caused me to wrestle deep within myself on the moral implications of supporting gay rights, gay people, and gay marriage.

So, seeking out my grandmother's tutelage once more, I asked, "is it okay for me to support gay marriage?" She told me that while she thought it was wrong, she thought they should be treated the same as everyone else. When I asked, "what if someone running a bakery refused to serve a gay couple?" She again replied, if they're running a business, they should serve everyone equally. Well, with that having been settled, I chose to become a supporter of gay marriage.

Tonight, I am renewing that pledge with a new drive and determination. I strayed from the path I set for myself, and I will honor the memory of my uncle by standing up for the equal treatment of homosexual individuals in America. I dealt with an issue I was hardly prepared to handle 11 years ago, but I was taught that even if one of your own blood represents something you find sinful and wrong, you love them anyway.

I am standing firm on the fact that the 14th Amendment does in fact grant gays the right to marry, because you can't make laws that only pertain to one group over another. That's not fair. I agreed with the reasoning of the Supreme Court and I told my grandmother that. And tonight I discovered that Alexander Hamilton had written something interesting about the courts:

In Federalist 78, He wrote, "The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution." One can't argue with that. If a founding father said such a thing, how can I dispute that?

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to believe me, not after the stunts I've pulled tonight. But if you do, I won't let you down again.

Lot of text for 'as far as the government is concerned, marriage is simply an economic contract between two people. As such any two people legally able to enter into other contracts with each other must be allowed to enter into this one.'

Well, that is not the case for everyone. For some, marriage is much more than that. I do agree that gays should be able to be married though.

ONLY issue the law can settle is the legal idea of marriage. Wanna oppose gay marriage you must use a non-legal arguement like religious. But the law isn't concerned with that. So short of coming up with a valid legal reason the state should forbid two people entering into a marital contract with one another you have zero chance of winning such arguements.

I don't oppose gay marriage. I don't think the state has any right to say gay people cannot marry.

 

[NYcarbineer]

The right of gays to marry is a simple straightforward exercise in equal treatment under the law.

Any opponent of same sex marriage who cannot remove that obstacle to his position is argumentatively DOA.

 

[NYcarbineer]

I support gay marriage, and not for the reasons you think

Because it will inevitably lead to legal beastiality, which will enable you to marry your memaw's poodle?

What is wrong with you?

Don't have anything constructive to say, so you try to take a low-blow out on him?

Get out of here if you don't have anything worthwhile to say. If you have something of actual substance regarding his position, spit it out. Otherwise you're doing nothing but instantly making an ass out of yourself which, I would think, you'd learn not to do based on what others have been doing and hopefully learning from.

Tissue?

Gesundheit.

 

[NYcarbineer]

This is a story about how I had to deal with homosexuality in my own family. How I learned to be tolerant of homosexuals and homosexuality. My recent and very immature (even by my own standards) behavior in my Masha Gessen thread may have lead many of you to believe that my intentions regarding my support for gay marriage were not sincere. Trust me, they are. In fact, it runs in the family.

When I was in sixteen years old, my father thought I was old enough to handle the prospect of having a gay uncle. I wasn't. Far from it. I loathed and hated gays, I operated off raw emotion. Still, he sat me down and said "my brother, your uncle, Jared, is Gay, and he wants to meet you." My reaction was negative, though I hid it from him. I didn't want to say no, but I didn't want to say yes either. "Cool" I said. "How am I going to deal with this? I don't even like gay people!" I thought.

So, I asked my devoutly Christian grandmother to advise me on what I should do. I knew homosexuality was wrong to her, and to me as a Christian. But I was shocked to hear her say this: "love him anyway. You should go meet him." Who was I to argue with that? I let my dad know I was interested in meeting him, and so he arranged it. Little did I know I wouldn't ever get to. I was so ruled by the stereotypes given to homosexuals, I procrastinated in the beginning. And today I still regret that.

In the Spring of 2004, my uncle was murdered in North Carolina. When my dad broke the news, he was devastated. And I was filled with guilt, the guilt that I waited, and fought with my feelings too long. I never got to truly understand what it was like for someone who was gay, to be gay. My father told me that Jared had been doing drugs and had a deal go bad on him. I believed him at the time. Today though, when I think back on it, I know for a fact it was a hate crime. To this day I am still saddened by the fact I never got to see him.

I went on the next 8 years despising and loathing homosexuals, forgetting all my grandmother had taught me to do, and doing the exact opposite; forgetting about the death of my gay uncle who had died all because someone hated him for being gay. Then my views began to change. I started making gay friends, making efforts to understand them, to make strides to accept them. This year, an event occurred in my life that ultimately changed my views on gay marriage and gay people forever. It caused me to wrestle deep within myself on the moral implications of supporting gay rights, gay people, and gay marriage.

So, seeking out my grandmother's tutelage once more, I asked, "is it okay for me to support gay marriage?" She told me that while she thought it was wrong, she thought they should be treated the same as everyone else. When I asked, "what if someone running a bakery refused to serve a gay couple?" She again replied, if they're running a business, they should serve everyone equally. Well, with that having been settled, I chose to become a supporter of gay marriage.

Tonight, I am renewing that pledge with a new drive and determination. I strayed from the path I set for myself, and I will honor the memory of my uncle by standing up for the equal treatment of homosexual individuals in America. I dealt with an issue I was hardly prepared to handle 11 years ago, but I was taught that even if one of your own blood represents something you find sinful and wrong, you love them anyway.

I am standing firm on the fact that the 14th Amendment does in fact grant gays the right to marry, because you can't make laws that only pertain to one group over another. That's not fair. I agreed with the reasoning of the Supreme Court and I told my grandmother that. And tonight I discovered that Alexander Hamilton had written something interesting about the courts:

In Federalist 78, He wrote, "The complete independence of the courts of justice is peculiarly essential in a limited Constitution." One can't argue with that. If a founding father said such a thing, how can I dispute that?

Don't worry, I'm not going anywhere. You don't have to believe me, not after the stunts I've pulled tonight. But if you do, I won't let you down again.

Mom! Uncle T is telling stories again!

 

[LoneLaugher]

I support gay marriage, and not for the reasons you think

Because it will inevitably lead to legal beastiality, which will enable you to marry your memaw's poodle?

What is wrong with you?

Don't have anything constructive to say, so you try to take a low-blow out on him?

Get out of here if you don't have anything worthwhile to say. If you have something of actual substance regarding his position, spit it out. Otherwise you're doing nothing but instantly making an ass out of yourself which, I would think, you'd learn not to do based on what others have been doing and hopefully learning from.

If you were a hall monitor worth your salt, you'd have brought Rexx the Unfunny down to the Dean's office by now. Please.....be fair about your childish outrage.

What you have done here is overreact to a joke. Lighten up, Nancy.

 

[JoeB131]

Maybe you should boil your position down to a medium-sized paragraph.

I'm an essayist. I don't deal in "medium sized paragraphs." I must bore the hell out of people with 500 word paragraphs.

I think you forget the first rule of writing-

Write like you are being paid by the point and penalized by the word.