Gay Marriage Is Legal in U.S. Capital

Gay Marriage Is Legal in U.S. Capital

www.nytimes.com

WASHINGTON — It was cold and drizzling outside the City Courthouse just after 6 a.m. on Wednesday, but no one seemed to mind among the same-sex couples waiting for the chance to apply for a marriage license.

“This is a dream come true,” said Sinjoyla Townsend, 41, as she smiled ear to ear and held up her ticket indicating she was first in line with her partner of 12 years, Angelisa Young, 47. “We wanted it so bad.”

(visit the link for the full news article)

[humour]
Yay finally... gays can become as miserable as the rest of us.

j/k I love my wife glances quickly over shoulder
[/humour]

Seriously now.

I know there will be some ATSers against this, however, i have always believed that the over whelming majority of gay people did NOT choose their sexual preference. If two people of the same gender love each other enough, let them be able to marry and say the words 'till death do us part'.

www.nytimes.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

I just want to say to everyone that as a Christian, I think people should have equal access to the benefits of the law. So as much as I disagree with the concept, let the same sex couples get the benefits of tax cuts and so forth that come with being in "married" status. HOWEVER, let's not call it marriage. Let's just call it civil unions. Marriage is a religious institution. Why do people that oppose the morals of religion want to participate in religious institutions. ALSO, let's never force a church to preform a same sex union. It is against the moral code of the religion. Let them have there beautiful civil union service somewhere neutral, like a beach, or in a ball room. Those places are great and they are perfect for large events. Why cram what Christians deem immoral down our throats. Have you freedom, but don't impose on ours. Thanks

Good.

Honestly, if a gay man wants to marry a gay woman...
I have no problem with that.

Originally posted by SilentShadow


[humour]
Yay finally... gays can become as miserable as the rest of us.

j/k I love my wife glances quickly over shoulder

[/humour]

you b*%$ i was going to say that as soon as i read the thread title.

i dont see why Marriage is such a big deal.
and why Gays want it so much.
its exactly the same Civil partnership just more dressed up


i found it more funny that a hetrosexual couple were refused civil partnership.



reply to post by trueperspective


everyone that is Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu and so on should do
the next thing and Let God Judge the person and let them be.
since no one gave them the right to jude or condem others.






[edit on 4-3-2010 by illusive man]

Good for them!

My longtime girlfriend and I have said for a long time that we wont get married until everyone can...

Does this mean I have to go buy a ring now?

Originally posted by trueperspective
I just want to say to everyone that as a Christian, I think people should have equal access to the benefits of the law. So as much as I disagree with the concept, let the same sex couples get the benefits of tax cuts and so forth that come with being in "married" status. HOWEVER, let's not call it marriage. Let's just call it civil unions. Marriage is a religious institution. Why do people that oppose the morals of religion want to participate in religious institutions. ALSO, let's never force a church to preform a same sex union. It is against the moral code of the religion. Let them have there beautiful civil union service somewhere neutral, like a beach, or in a ball room. Those places are great and they are perfect for large events. Why cram what Christians deem immoral down our throats. Have you freedom, but don't impose on ours. Thanks

How come your religion is the only one that can use the word "marriage" Marriage is used in many religions, and probably didn't even originate from Christianity.


"What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."

Civil union and marriage are the same, it doesn't matter what you call it, it will always be one and the same. I used the quote as an example.

Just a question. What makes your morals right above other peoples? What makes your interpretation of the bible right above someone elses?

Really what does it matter in the end? They want to get married and they are not a Christian? Then They're marriage is just a peace of paper at the court house and not an eternal covenant between you your spouse and God.

But gays not as a rule but the majority aren't christian(some mistakenly say they are) so there marriage is just a legal document and nothing more.

on top of that monogamous marriage is not just a jewish-christian concept every religion and culture has some form of marriage so you cannot you the bible as a defense against them.

an added bonus to gay marriage while it may sound a little wrong is once they are able to be married and have a stable and committed relationship it would cut down on the number of AIDS infectected patient that goes up every year. Because when they are not tied by any moral based relationship like marriage they are more likely to have multiple partners and spread STDs.


by the way I am Christian and I am not pro gay but I do support equal rights. gay civil union will not work... separate but equal did not work 60 years ago and it wont work now...
peace

reply to post by illusive man

i dont see why Marriage is such a big deal.
and why Gays want it so much.
its exactly the same Civil partnership just more dressed up

LMAO! Are you kidding me?

Who cares why they want it? The problem is that IF they want it, they are TOLD that they CANT have it simply because they PREFER a different sexual orientation. This is no different than "women cant vote" and "whites only" water fountains.

I am simply astounded at how completely out of whack your statement is.

Legal Marriage is NOTHING like a civil partnership.

NOTHING
NOTHING
NOTHING

reply to post by trueperspective


I dont care if its called the Homo Hookup as long as each same sex "whatever" has the same civil rights to tax laws,etc. its about equal rights america.
Call it what you want...civil union works for me as long as all federal , state, and local laws are equal. Quit trying to make it a religious thing. Church and State are seperate........remember???? If you dont remember then try putting a manger scene on the state house lawn next christmas....rightttttttttttt.

I always say that everyone should have equal rights.


I also always say, that since I am heterosexual, I am not involved in the issue either morally, or politically. It's really not my place.

reply to post by Snarf


how is that so?
what dont you get in civil that you get in marriage

ps i dont care much if they can or cant.

reply to post by illusive man


Here are things you can NOT do under a civil union that you CAN do in a marriage

A choice. The law recognizes there is a difference between civil union & marriage so much so that they give it two different names. So if you're gay - you don't get to choose. You are left with 1 option.


in fact, you know what, there is a very well written article already on this subject I'm usually against doing the research for someone, especially since google was founded, but JUST IN CASE you ask that question in seek of actual knowledge, and not out of spite in a rhetorical manner...i'll help you out a bit.

Read up on the article, and if you doubt anything contained therein, feel free to google it

A few of the better snippets from the article include:

A United States citizen who is married can sponsor his or her non-American spouse for immigration into this country. Those with Civil Unions have no such privilege.

The United States Constitution guarantees equality for all. As you can see, marriage and civil unions are not the same. Creating equal access to marriage is the only fair way to ensure equality for gay and straight couples alike.

There are many people in this world who firmly believe that they will end up in heaven while most others will go to an eternal hell full of torment.

They believe everyone has the equal opportunity to be exposed to the right Bible, and to accept only Jesus Christ as their savior, no matter where they are born on this planet. Apparently Inuit on the North pole have just as easy an access to the correct Bible as people who are born in the Bible belt...

They believe Children who die under a certain age automatically go to heaven, and they don't think this is unfair at all, even though they also believe that the death of children is God's work.
They don't see this as God selectively picking his company, while He lets others stumble around on Earth for 80 years with ample time to commit sins.

Anyway, why do I write this?

Well, the sooner we all accept that these things are firmly believed by most devout Christians in the US, the sooner we can stop trying to appeal to them for equal rights.

It simply doesn't compute within their world view and belief structure...

Equal Rights? SYNTAX ERROR....




edit to fix grammar and spelling

[edit on 4-3-2010 by Conspiracy Pianist]

reply to post by Conspiracy Pianist


I know you said devote but not all devote Christians fall into the same categories. Yes a southern baptist is a far cry from a none denominational christian. Which do you think is more likely to support equal rights.

But I guess what I'm saying is don't just lump us all together like that because an Independent Fundamental baptist who says if you read the bible in any language other then English your going to hell cause English is Gods language and a Gnostic Christian like myself who tries to except everyone as Christ would have are to totally different things all together.


remember when you meet someone how says they are a fundamentalist the biggest part of that word is MENTAL!
Peace

Marriage between gays is also legal in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin. and Wyoming. It is only illegal in certain third-world countries such as in the Middle East.

In the United States, religious ceremonies are regulated by the various churches and religions. We have no laws that state one cannot take vows of matrimony based on any characteristics whatsoever. If your church wishes to allow gay marriage, you can get married. If your church allows marriage between a man and his blow-up[ doll, that man can marry his blow-up doll.

The issue is not over legality of gays performing a religious ritual, but over the recognition of that ceremony by the government. Until people understand that, this issue will never be resolved.

TheRedneck

reply to post by DisIllusioned PatRiot


I understand, which is why I wrote the word 'most' in that sentence.

Generalizations and criticism don't go together very well, so I always try to play it safe by adding in 'most' or 'many' or so...

BTW I consider myself a gnostic as well, and I especially enjoyed the Nag Hammaddi scrolls.

My partner and I have been together now for 18 years. We have two boys that we adopted from Russia.
However, in our state if the other dies, the immediate family can come in and take what ever they want in real estate, etc... The other partner could be left with nothing. We cant claim each other on our taxes. We cant be on each others insurance. We can get kicked out of housing simply because we are gay. We can lose our jobs for being gay. Do I need to go on?
I dont want special rights. I just want Equal Rights under the law. I want my family to be legally recognized.

reply to post by TheRedneck


marriage is not contingent on religious ceremonies. Thats why we have court officials who can conduct the vows and make it official.

Marriage - in legal speak - is a union between a man and a woman that the federal government recognizes.

Marriage - in religious speak - is something completely different.

All the proof in the world that you need for the difference can be found in polygamy.

Their religion says its okay.
our government says its not.

Though i think i see your point - that simply being gay & married won't land you in jail (hence illegal) its still a matter of "legalizing" gay marriage so that the federal government recognizes it as an equal union via the constitution.

[edit on 4-3-2010 by Snarf]

Originally posted by trueperspective
HOWEVER, let's not call it marriage. Let's just call it civil unions. Marriage is a religious institution.

...legal marriage is a governmental imposition, errrr, uh, condition...

Originally posted by trueperspective
Why do people that oppose the morals of religion want to participate in religious institutions.

...religion has no ownership of marriage...

Originally posted by trueperspective
ALSO, let's never force a church to preform a same sex union.

...agreed, under the premise of seperation of church and state...

Originally posted by trueperspective
It is against the moral code of the religion.

...thats your problem - not the problem of those who dont allow your religion to dictate their lives...

Originally posted by trueperspective
Why cram what Christians deem immoral down our throats.

...no one is forcing you to participate in a homosexual marriage...

Originally posted by trueperspective
Have you freedom, but don't impose on ours. Thanks

...no one is imposing on your freedom... you are imposing your religion upon others, attempting to limit their freedom...