My Thoughts on Proposition 8

[gaping_lotus]

What ever happened to a separation of church and state?

Marriage is a culturally and socially relative term.  What right does a government have to enforce it's definition and limitation of marriage on a nation of people with diverse cultural and social backgrounds?  Government should only be concerned with government matters such as taxation, health

Comments

Re: Yes On 8

[henryfaber]

My point is that you wish to redefine an institution of society that has been around for many thousands of years. It doesn't require a big debate to understand that this is dangerous.
I'm not understanding your point here. Things change; it is the nature of the world. "Institutions" of society have mutated countless times, and yet society is still here.

I don't think married couples without children (and I know several) should be banned. They're at least providing a role model (man + woman) for marriage. But they're not contributing to the next generation, which is the purpose of marriage. I believe it's ridiculous to believe that kids can be raised just as well outside of marriage as within it. What on earth could you possibly base that on?
50% divorce rate. Your way is not working either. By your logic, 50% of the kids now are *just as bad off* as if they were raised by a couple of d00ds, since they are not in a traditional "marriage"-oriented family. Society is not falling apart. I see no Proposition 9 to force an end to the practice of divorce. Until the "Protect Marriage" lobby introduces and fully supports such a referendum, they are only practicing bigotry and discrimination against ~10 percent of the population.

The gay lobby will go after the churches for being evil, and discriminatory, and bigoted, etc.
Exactly. Because they are.

Gay employees who are "married" but not in the eyes of their employer, the church, will sue for benefits or damages to their self-esteem, etc.
Incorrect; they will sue for damages *to them* due to denial of service, but courts will likely throw them out unless the will of the people has been expressed through laws preventing such discrimination. In California that might be the case, but for most of the country this is not an issue (yet).

Photographers (this has actually happened already) who refuse to shoot gay marriages will also be sued, and go out of business.
Welcome to Capitalism! Enjoy the view.

Churches will shut their doors as they lose lawsuits, and/or to avoid having to conduct gay ceremonies. It will get real ugly, real fast. This is a guarantee.
Yay! I, for one, Welcome our new atheist logic-using overlords.

Re: Yes On 8

[michaelk1000]

You admit that I'm right about all the things that gay marriage will bring, and yet you still think it's relevant to ask people, "how will your marriage be hurt by allowing gay marriage?" THIS IS HOW. It's not just about the word "marriage." Because marriage is so fundamental to society, and because it affects SO MUCH, altering it in this way will have massive repercussions all through society. What I've mentioned is just the tip of the iceberg.

You can be fine with all these changes that are coming, but at least be honest and acknowledge that people who are opposed have very valid reasons for their opposition (i.e. not bigotry, homophobia, etc.). They see a tidal wave of changes coming unlike anything in history and it scares the hell out of them.