"Gay rights" is a misnomer

[chrismac]

There's no such thing as a gay rights issue. We are endowed with rights by the constitution. Exactly what in our constitution do straight people get that gay people don't get?

I know people think gay marriage is a right because of half of a sentence in a case concerning the criminalization of interracial marriage, but, quite simply, it's not. Marriage is a civil right...meaning the government should have nothing to do with it. And to a big extent, they don't. The legal benefits that married couples receive are based on the social and economic implications of men and women who live with each other, sleep in the same bed, and have kids. You need a home, you need transportation. You need more money to provide for your family. And it's mostly up to chance.

Some same-sex couples have children, and thus, have the same need for more of their money. But this is almost always deliberate, and this is never the cause of homosexual unions. So the economic impetus isn't there to endow same-sex couples with the same benefits heterosexual couples receive, because they don't function the same way. For tax purposes, anyone can file as having dependents, so there's no disparity in the moral compunction the government has in allowing parents to take care of their kids.

But seriously, what gay rights issue is there? People throw that word around, and I think they don't know what it means, or they use it too liberally to describe what they want, and not what they're promised by the Constitution.

 

[brownlou]

Gay couples do not have the right to file joint tax returns. They may not be able to visit their spouse in the hospital or make medical decisions if the spouse is incapable. Gay people do not have the right to their spouse's Social Security or retirement. The list goes on and on.

The biggest difference is that gay people cannot serve in the military. Don't ask, don't tell is a joke. How can gay people be considered citizens of this country when they cannot have the honor of serving our military and our country?

 

[editec]

Of course it is.

Human rights are the issue.

 

[jillian]

There's no such thing as a gay rights issue. We are endowed with rights by the constitution. Exactly what in our constitution do straight people get that gay people don't get?

Your rights only exist to the extent they are enforced by the Courts and by the government.

And if the rights of gay people are not enforced, they do not exist.

So what don't *you* get?

 

[chrismac]

Gay couples do not have the right to file joint tax returns. They may not be able to visit their spouse in the hospital or make medical decisions if the spouse is incapable. Gay people do not have the right to their spouse's Social Security or retirement. The list goes on and on.

The biggest difference is that gay people cannot serve in the military. Don't ask, don't tell is a joke. How can gay people be considered citizens of this country when they cannot have the honor of serving our military and our country?

The right to file a joint tax return is a tax privilege, not a civil and inalienable right. They are actually able to see their spouses in the hospital, so that's an erroneous example. Social Security and access to retirement: see above re: privileges not civil rights.

Gay people can't serve "openly" in the military. That's not a civil right, either, though.

Human rights are the issue.

I hate soundbites, and this one doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

Your rights only exist to the extent they are enforced by the Courts and by the government.

And if the rights of gay people are not enforced, they do not exist.

So what don't *you* get?

What are you talking about?

 

[necritan]

Well....as soon as you guys take goverment (taxes , SSI , etc etc) out of the equation....you'll be good to go.

But you wont.....will you??

 

[Luissa]

There's no such thing as a gay rights issue. We are endowed with rights by the constitution. Exactly what in our constitution do straight people get that gay people don't get?

I know people think gay marriage is a right because of half of a sentence in a case concerning the criminalization of interracial marriage, but, quite simply, it's not. Marriage is a civil right...meaning the government should have nothing to do with it. And to a big extent, they don't. The legal benefits that married couples receive are based on the social and economic implications of men and women who live with each other, sleep in the same bed, and have kids. You need a home, you need transportation. You need more money to provide for your family. And it's mostly up to chance.

Some same-sex couples have children, and thus, have the same need for more of their money. But this is almost always deliberate, and this is never the cause of homosexual unions. So the economic impetus isn't there to endow same-sex couples with the same benefits heterosexual couples receive, because they don't function the same way. For tax purposes, anyone can file as having dependents, so there's no disparity in the moral compunction the government has in allowing parents to take care of their kids.

But seriously, what gay rights issue is there? People throw that word around, and I think they don't know what it means, or they use it too liberally to describe what they want, and not what they're promised by the Constitution.

no where in the constitution does it even define marriage either way, so I have never seen why the government has a say whether or not they are allowed to marry.

 

[LiveUninhibited]

There's no such thing as a gay rights issue. We are endowed with rights by the constitution. Exactly what in our constitution do straight people get that gay people don't get?

Equal treament under the law, i.e. the right to enter into a specific legal contract with the person they love with no compelling reason to disallow them from doing so.

 

[necritan]

The 14th amendment is supposed to protect all of us....its supposed to give us all equal rights....however...our government has gotten away from us and we are all gonna be screwed real bad in the end.....no pun intended.

 

[chrismac]

Well....as soon as you guys take goverment (taxes , SSI , etc etc) out of the equation....you'll be good to go.

But you wont.....will you??

No, probably not.

no where in the constitution does it even define marriage either way, so I have never seen why the government has a say whether or not they are allowed to marry.

The government "has a say" to the extent that it gives certain rights and responsibilities to those who file for a marriage license. But you can actually "marry" anyone you want. They're not going to stop you.

Equal treament under the law, i.e. the right to enter into a specific legal contract with the person they love with no compelling reason to disallow them from doing so.

Any man and can enter into a "legal contract" with any woman, whether they love each other or not. With the exception of two states, no man, gay or straight, can enter into a legal contract with another man, be they gay or straight, whether they love each other or not. Love has ZERO to do with it.

And gay marriage actually isn't "banned". There's no law saying "gay people can marry" or "same-sex processions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law".

The 14th amendment is supposed to protect all of us....its supposed to give us all equal rights....however...our government has gotten away from us and we are all gonna be screwed real bad in the end.....no pun intended.

You're running your mouth and not making a ton of sense. What right do straight people have that gay people don't?

 

[Sunni Man]

The biggest difference is that gay people cannot serve in the military. Don't ask, don't tell is a joke. How can gay people be considered citizens of this country when they cannot have the honor of serving our military and our country?

Homos are citizens of the United States

Just because they can't brag about their perverse lifestyle while serving in the military doesn't change that fact.

 

[AllieBaba]

Gay couples do not have the right to file joint tax returns. They may not be able to visit their spouse in the hospital or make medical decisions if the spouse is incapable. Gay people do not have the right to their spouse's Social Security or retirement. The list goes on and on.

The biggest difference is that gay people cannot serve in the military. Don't ask, don't tell is a joke. How can gay people be considered citizens of this country when they cannot have the honor of serving our military and our country?

Sorry, they don't belong in the military. They can find honor serving in another capacity.

 

[Sunni Man]

Gay couples do not have the right to file joint tax returns. They may not be able to visit their spouse in the hospital or make medical decisions if the spouse is incapable. Gay people do not have the right to their spouse's Social Security or retirement. The list goes on and on.

The biggest difference is that gay people cannot serve in the military. Don't ask, don't tell is a joke. How can gay people be considered citizens of this country when they cannot have the honor of serving our military and our country?

Sorry, they don't belong in the military. They can find honor serving in another capacity.

You can't really be a "man" and have your fudge packed, much less claim "honor"

 

[AllieBaba]

Gay couples do not have the right to file joint tax returns. They may not be able to visit their spouse in the hospital or make medical decisions if the spouse is incapable. Gay people do not have the right to their spouse's Social Security or retirement. The list goes on and on.

The biggest difference is that gay people cannot serve in the military. Don't ask, don't tell is a joke. How can gay people be considered citizens of this country when they cannot have the honor of serving our military and our country?

The right to file a joint tax return is a tax privilege, not a civil and inalienable right. They are actually able to see their spouses in the hospital, so that's an erroneous example. Social Security and access to retirement: see above re: privileges not civil rights.

Gay people can't serve "openly" in the military. That's not a civil right, either, though.

Human rights are the issue.

I hate soundbites, and this one doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

Your rights only exist to the extent they are enforced by the Courts and by the government.

And if the rights of gay people are not enforced, they do not exist.

So what don't *you* get?

What are you talking about?

Some people don't understand nuance within the law, and wouldn't recognize a right if it slapped them in the face.

Filing joint taxes is not a right.

And the whole "hospital scenario" has probably happened once or twice, before "Philadelphia" became a hit, and doesn't happen anymore. It's a fantasy.

 

[AllieBaba]

Nor is it a "right" to serve in the military.

So we have established that no rights have been violated.

 

[Luissa]

Gay couples do not have the right to file joint tax returns. They may not be able to visit their spouse in the hospital or make medical decisions if the spouse is incapable. Gay people do not have the right to their spouse's Social Security or retirement. The list goes on and on.

The biggest difference is that gay people cannot serve in the military. Don't ask, don't tell is a joke. How can gay people be considered citizens of this country when they cannot have the honor of serving our military and our country?

Sorry, they don't belong in the military. They can find honor serving in another capacity.

some people in the military might disagree with you there! And you should say that to the mother's of gay men who have died over there. Here is another point of view also!

Study: Gays Don't Harm Unit Cohesion

 

[Sunni Man]

Homos DO NOT belong in the US military. Period.

It's a sick and sad day when America has to depend on faggots to defend our Freedom

 

[KittenKoder]

That's just funny ... since there are many in the war right now. I would sooner trust them with my freedoms than people who are so fixated on sexual activity they can't even ignore it long enough to fight for it ... like Sunni. The only people who suffer from gays in the military are those who can't ignore their own sexual choices ... not the gay men and women serving themselves, who are more focused on getting the job done than how other people live.

 

[del]

"You don't have to be straight to be in the military; you just have to be able to shoot straight."- barry goldwater

 

[AllieBaba]

Actually, the people obsessing over sexuality are the homosexuals who insist they be allowed to flaunt their sexuality while serving in the military.