SAME-SEX MARRIAGE NOW LEGAL IN NEW ZEALAND

Jay_37040 said:

Being gay isn't a choice, though. Acting on one's feelings, however, is. There lies the difference.



I'm sorry, but the polls coming out of New Zealand prior to this vote being taken suggest your assertion is incorrect. For instance, a One News poll conducted by Colmar Brunton found that 63 percent of New Zealanders think same-sex couples should be able to marry, while 31 percent were opposed. And a New Zealand Herald Digipoll survey conducted last month showed 52 percent of respondents supported same-sex marriage while 48 percent were opposed.



Why would any gay person knowingly hit on someone who is straight? We're not walking bags of hormones out to copulate with every male we encounter you know. And if someone who is gay does hit on you, simply tell them that you are not gay and they will thank you and that will be that. Any person who pushes themselves on you, though, should be cited for sexual harassment. And that goes for everyone, regardless of sexual orientation.

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I think he was just trying to be lighthearted/funny about it to lighten the thread's mood (that's how I read it anyhow.) I agree with you though on the sentiments :3

ANYWAYS THIS IS FANTASTIC NEWS! A great step in the right direction for everyone around the world and I'm really really hoping that other countries will follow the same path :3333

Pichu2Pikachu2Raichu said:

Well me, Im not gay. But I respect peoples choices.

You have no idea how different New Zealand is about gay marriage, most people hate it.

People should be happy, just dont try anything funny on me boi.

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It's definitely not a choice, but if you're not gay, you wouldn't be able to understand.

Adding on to the statistics Jay provided, it doesn't seem like there's as much opposition as you would typically find with topics such as gay marriage (in New Zealand specifically). You're always going to find people who oppose these types of things regardless. For you to blatantly say, "most people hate it", without providing any factual evidence, is a bit rash.

Yeah, people should be granted their basic human rights. And don't worry, contrary to popular belief, we are not sexually attracted to every male we see. Here's a surprising revelation: we have morals! Like Jay said, if a guy is hitting on you (which, frankly, I hardly ever see gay guys hitting on straight guys, but anyways), then you should either politely tell him to leave you alone or call the police. I'm gay myself and I'd fine it creepy if some guy I didn't know was hitting on me.

It's not as if not legalising gay marriage would make all the gay people go away anyway. It gives them the rights everyone should be entitled to.

That's really great! One more step towards equality.

Alright, time to play devil's advocate, I feel as if this post has become too much "Good for you New Zealand" and not as much debate.

One thing that I think should be brought up is not just the gay or lesbian couple in the situation, but also the children. Multiple papers and studies have been done on children raised by same sex couples, and there do seem to be positives and negatives. One example of a good thing is that children raised by same sex couples are on average much more accepting of other children who display differences such as sexual orientation, "abnormal" conditions or religions, etc. But at the same time, these children are more likely to receive ridicule from classmates due to their parent's sexual orientation, and bullying from those from a religious background where same sex marriage preached is quite likely. But as for the children's psychological state, it seems to come more from the parents than outside influence. An article in the Washington Post a little under a month ago says that "What matters more, researchers found, is the quality of parenting and the family's economic well-being." Later in the article, the author references Mark Regnerus, a large figure in the opponents of same sex marriage. Regnerus is referenced saying that he "found that adults who reported being raised by a person who had a homosexual experience were more likely to be on welfare or experience sexual abuse." [http://articles.washingtonpost.com/...7_1_mark-regnerus-gay-parents-social-science]

I'll leave the article quoting there for now, give you guys something to talk about.

Also, I dont really understand what you mean by this Gyardosamped.

Gyardosamped said:

It's definitely not a choice, but if you're not gay, you wouldn't be able to understand.

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It could be said for the same way with straight people. For me, as a straight person, I am attracted to females (as I am a male). But it makes sense to me for guys to be attracted to guys, or girls to girls. I personally don't know how much choice does or doesn't play into the equation, and I don't know how much having a "choice" would matter anyway. People are the way they are, so be it.

vaporeon7 said:

It's not as if not legalising gay marriage would make all the gay people go away anyway. It gives them the rights everyone should be entitled to.

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I do agree with you Vaporeon, making it illegal would not get rid of gay or lesbian people. It would make it much harder for things like inheritance, wills, and other things that married couples can take advantage of.

MinnesotanGamer said:

One thing that I think should be brought up is not just the gay or lesbian couple in the situation, but also the children. Multiple papers and studies have been done on children raised by same sex couples, and there do seem to be positives and negatives. One example of a good thing is that children raised by same sex couples are on average much more accepting of other children who display differences such as sexual orientation, "abnormal" conditions or religions, etc. But at the same time, these children are more likely to receive ridicule from classmates due to their parent's sexual orientation, and bullying from those from a religious background where same sex marriage preached is quite likely.

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Let me stop you right there.

Having one mother and one father is better than having no parents.

Having one mother and no father is better than having no parents.

Having two fathers is better than having no parents.

Having one father and no mother is better than having no parents.

Having two mothers is better than having no parents.

It's sad that in the world we live in children without a home can't be adopted by loving parents just because they're of the same sex. Having loving, well-meaning and economically suited parents is much better than having no parents at all. I can't believe this is something that even needs to be explained. A big argument is that same-sex couples tend to be on welfare, or that they are less fortunate than heterosexual couples. What else are you expecting when you're not giving them rights?