In your opinion, it is. As it stands now, almost every Western culture is governed by a secular body. Therefore, if marriage is an institution enforced by a government institution, it should be separate from religious organizations. After all, I didn't get married in a church but according to the government, I'm legally wed. Religion had nothing to do with my marriage. Gays should be given the same rights I enjoyed as a heterosexual under secular law.

The amount of intolerance and stupidity in the world sometimes astounds me. In this case, unfortunately, I'm not talking about the president of Gambia but rather his brethren that are posting in this thread. You know who you are.
 

* Cancels holiday to Gambia *

Africa is such a ...wonderful continent.

Marriage to me is more of a religious thing so it would not be right for to men to be married.

Mistershine. The armband thing lol. like i said i'd prefere not to talk to a gay but if i have to i will.

Pluss i dont think they should be killed for being that way.

I do have a gay in my fam, one of me uncles is gay. I told me mom that i disliked it many of times, but i dont hate him for it like. I just ask him not to kiss or hug up his boy friends in front of me like, and he dont mind that.

I mean my uncle dont walk through town kissing other men because he knows that people dont really like it.

 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.

Frickin' Berkeley hippie. Get yer patchouli-smellin' ass outta here. We're bashing teh gheys.

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.