RevDahlia

I think that a significant reason why this argument is usually so vituperative is that people who preach against gay marriage don't know (or THINK they don't know) any real, live gay people, at least not well enough to call them friends. I suspect that a lot of folks who object to homosexuality have formed an opinion of the "gay lifestyle" after watching horrified local-news coverage of San Francisco or New York Gay Pride events -- which is kinda like judging straight people by how they behave at Mardi Gras or Burning Man. You can't know what a "lifestyle" is really like until you've observed it at close range, in person, over a period of time. (I happily admit that my own opinion of gay people has been molded by the fact that I've been around scads of queers practically since birth.)

After observing how inquisitive's tone has changed just over the course of a few pages on a message board, I suspect that if s/he (sorry inq, I don't know whether you're a he or a she) ever met Classical and Classical's partner, maybe went to dinner with them or stayed at their house for a little while, s/he would have a very hard time telling them to their faces that they couldn't marry because their "lifestyle" is an "abomination".

So many people in America still think of gay people as this hugely foreign "other", simply because they don't realize that gay people are everywhere, that they know and like gay people, that gay people are (gasp) pretty much exactly like everyone else. So they feel safe declaring sweeping edicts w/r/t gay folks -- sort of like they're dictating domestic policy in a foreign country, or something. But it ain't like that.

As exasperated as I get with homophobes, I do understand that the Fred Phelps types are few and far between (thank Jeebus.)

Classical

Another great post for recognizing human beings on equal terms!

I really love you people, whoever you are. It is immensely encouraging to hear so many people arguing so passionately for basic human rights for the gay folks.

Being gay is just one part of who I am or what me and my partner stand for. We are everything else we have worked so hard to be and we just happen to be gay. We just happen to be in that percentage of people who are attracted to our own sex. It's not our choosing, it's just the way we are.

It is true when actually meet and mingle with gay people they get a much closer look at how much the same they are as everyone else. If Inq met us he'd probably love us as much as the rest of our straight friends (I have a doctorate in piano and my partner is a talented chef - great dinner parties!)Inq might even start carrying banners for gay marriage if s/he was around us long enough :rolling: Seriously, what do people want us to do when we're gay? Just live in a hole somewhere and never expect to enjoy our lives like everyone else? Why can't we get the legal benefits of making our union official? Why? Why can't we be treated just like everyone else? There are no valid reasons why this cannot be so. Many seemingly major things have changed with history and this is going to be just another aspect of social progress.

Enough said for now. Thanks for all the great posts, everyone.

Nice Squirrel

I haven't posted much in this thread compared to other gay marriage threads, but thank you. The arguments against gay marriage simply have no real base.