President of Gambia plans to kill off every single homosexual

[The Ghost of RubangB]

Grey Acumen said:

The Ghost of RubangB said:

mesoteto said:
ohh i dont think we should do anything to them, well other then not letting them get married* , i have always taken the stance that you do what you want a long as you dont threaten me or my family


*the marriage thing is only b/c its a religious thing, i am all for them having equal government rights, but the act of marring someone is a matter for god not man

Marriage is a government thing too. There are over one thousand laws with the word "marriage" in them. To deny anybody marriage is to fuck them over in over a thousand ways.

You and your church don't have to recognize them, but the law absolutely has to.

See, this I don't have any problem with, but that's not a marriage. When it's done by the government alone, it's a civil union. If you're going to try to use laws having the term "marriage" in them as the excuse, then that's really off base, because religion was there first, and marriage only was used in the laws because religion set the standards.

Also, for those arguing that it's equal rights, I think any guy, whether gay or straight, should be allowed to marry any woman, whether gay or straight, so I'm hardly being unequal about the matter. I don't want to deny anyone the ability to marry, but the definition of marriage is between a man and a woman.

I've got no problems with a homosexual couple being recognized legally, but I do think that there needs to be a clear line drawn that it is only legally and that no religion is in any way bound to observe this union. Seperation of church and state goes BOTH ways, thank you very much. In that respect, I fully support gay civil unions, but not gay marriage.

 

 I'm calling bullshit.  I got married in a courthouse.  To a woman even!  I have a marriage license and certificate and even a receipt with my name on it.  It doesn't say "civil union" anywhere on it.  No priest, no church, in and out in 15 minutes.  Legally married.  All law, no religion.

 (We're still considering ourselves "engaged" until we have our kickass secular wedding later on, but we hopped in the courthouse to legalize it to help organize our financial aid and taxes and try to get more money.)

 You may be right about the religious definition, but that doesn't really have anything to do with the law, which always changes for more inclusion, not more exclusion.  Churches don't have to recognize new laws, but if they're gonna be the ones freaking out "about the word" then they're the ones who need to come up with a new word.

 Also, there are gay churches that have gay marriages all the time.  Not all churches hate teh gayz.  I know it's hard to believe, but it's true.

 

The thing about "the word" is a fucking separate but equal clause all over again.  You're separating people and saying "marriage is for straights" and "civil unions are for gays."  You're belittling the gays and telling them they have their own drinking fountain just for them 'cuz they're special.  They don't have special needs.  They have the same needs.  They want to get married just like everybody else, and if it has to be different, that's a huge insult.

 It's like graduating from college, and then they pull you aside, and say "We know you worked just as hard as everybody else, but ya see.. you're a little special, so you don't get a degree, you get this other paper, with a new name just for you, so everybody knows you're different, but don't worry, you'll still get a job.  It's basically the same thing as a degree.  Also, don't use our bathrooms anymore.  They're just for people with degrees."

 

 

@rocketpig, I've only lived here for a year dammit.  And I'm actually in the ghetto of Oakland, far from the hippies.  I only hop in and out like a ninja, for the education.  I'm walking a fine line, as I'm already super-liberal without the patchoulli, and I hear that shit's contagious.  Somebody actually got shot 3 houses down from my place in February.  There's no room for free love on my street.