How do you feel about Same-Sex Marriage?

[Palkiacatcher]

I'm Christian, but I'm tolerant of peoples beliefs.

I'm not going to bash people for being homosexual, but I myself don't support it.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

Homophobia still rampant in the twenty first century? Shocking!

Humans aren't as sophisticated as we like to think.

The black community is still homophobic; and the hip-hop community is even more so.

 

[Steven]

You'd think a minority would be more accepting of other minorities.

I have no idea who Lil' B is, but good for them.

 

[Rainy Day]

What a semantics debate this has turned into.

Here's my opinion:
Same-sex marriage is fine. If you want to do it, cool. The law should protect you and all if you want to do it. On what level is the law is implemented? Well, it doesn't really matter to be frank. As long as homosexuals and their rights are protected, it could be at the state or federal level. People are missing the point of the thread I think.

 

[Steven]

I'm Christian, but I'm tolerant of peoples beliefs.

I'm not going to bash people for being homosexual, but I myself don't support it.

Then don't get one and let people who actually want one get one. ;)

 

[Shining Raichu]

What a semantics debate this has turned into.

People are missing the point of the thread I think.

Same-sex marriage is a far-reaching issue, which stretches to adoption and general homophobia, and sadly, religion. The debate evolved, people aren't missing the point. There are a lot of points.

 

[Rainy Day]

Same-sex marriage is a far-reaching issue, which stretches to adoption and general homophobia, and sadly, religion. The debate evolved, people aren't missing the point. There are a lot of points.

Well it's not so much that. After scanning the thread, I found lots of mini-arguments arguing semantics over the finer points of the constitution, which honestly has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

 

[Shining Raichu]

Well it's not so much that. After scanning the thread, I found lots of mini-arguments arguing semantics over the finer points of the constitution, which honestly has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Ah right yes, well we have a law student in our midst, so that was bound to happen lol

 

[Yuukihime]

I'm completely for gay marriage, tbh. It's a shame California didn't legalize it. People should have the right to marry who they love, same-sex or not. :|

 

[Aura Rift]

I wouldnt dream of doing it but you know if some guys want to marry other guys and some girls want to marry other girls then whatever I aint stoppin ya

 

[Freedom Fighter N]

Well it's not so much that. After scanning the thread, I found lots of mini-arguments arguing semantics over the finer points of the constitution, which honestly has nothing to do with the topic at hand.

Agreed. All threads here are like this. They're like "lets argue all day long lolrofl" instead of "lets agree on a point / reach a conclusion".

Hopefully, none of those people are going into politics.

As for a lame excuse how to not make this post spam and what I've mentioned earlier, how about we reach a conclusion?
imo it should be allowed and there's no reason why not to.

 

[Timbjerr]

I'll say one thing for religion:

I was raised in a heavily Catholic family, and while labeling myself as such nowadays would feel like I'm lying, my current opinion of Catholicism is still far from negative...and I spent a good deal of my teenage years volunteering for the church and of course preparing for the sacrament of confirmation. I am or have been acquainted with upwards of a hundred priests, parishioners, and laypeople in my lifetime.

Here's the funny part:

I have never once been indoctrinated with hatred.

Surprised? Only a very small percentage of the hardcore Catholics I've ever associated with are homophobic and/or racist, and only a small percentage of that small percentage are actually actively homophobic and/or racist. They could've tried to indoctrinate me to be equally homophobic, but here's another little secret:

I'm capable of forming my own opinions.

*gasp* Someone raised in a religious setting capable of free thought?!?!

I hate to come off as condescending or rude, but I can't idly stand by as the organization that I grew up with my full faith in is cast as the grand villain of social equality, when their official stance on the subject is often simply misconstrued or misunderstood (courtesy of the much more vocal and politically active Evangelical Christian organization).

The Catholic Church simply refuses to perform a marriage ceremony for same-sex couples. They generally don't treat gays as second-class citizens or refuse them any other services, they just won't perform a same-sex marriage in their churches. which, as FreakyLocz has mentioned several times in this thread, is well within the limits of the churhc's first amendment rights.

 

[Shining Raichu]

I'll say one thing for religion:

I was raised in a heavily Catholic family, and while labeling myself as such nowadays would feel like I'm lying, my current opinion of Catholicism is still far from negative...and I spent a good deal of my teenage years volunteering for the church and of course preparing for the sacrament of confirmation. I am or have been acquainted with upwards of a hundred priests, parishioners, and laypeople in my lifetime.

Here's the funny part:

I have never once been indoctrinated with hatred.

Surprised? Only a very small percentage of the hardcore Catholics I've ever associated with are homophobic and/or racist, and only a small percentage of that small percentage are actually actively homophobic and/or racist. They could've tried to indoctrinate me to be equally homophobic, but here's another little secret:

I'm capable of forming my own opinions.

*gasp* Someone raised in a religious setting capable of free thought?!?!

I hate to come off as condescending or rude, but I can't idly stand by as the organization that I grew up with my full faith in is cast as the grand villain of social equality, when their official stance on the subject is often simply misconstrued or misunderstood (courtesy of the much more vocal and politically active Evangelical Christian organization).

The Catholic Church simply refuses to perform a marriage ceremony for same-sex couples. They generally don't treat gays as second-class citizens or refuse them any other services, they just won't perform a same-sex marriage in their churches. which, as FreakyLocz has mentioned several times in this thread, is well within the limits of the churhc's first amendment rights.

You hate to come off as condescending or rude, yet still you manage to soldier through and do it anyway.

I'm glad that you've had such a positive experience with religion, but I'm sorry to say that the evidence regardless points overwhelmingly in the opposite direction.

The fact that indoctrination hasn't happened to you doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. I've seen it happen to a few friends of mine, who have as a consequence assumed lesser roles in my life. I wouldn't go so far as to call the institution itself evil, but there is an evil within. This isn't specific to the Catholic Church, but most Christian denominations. If it's any consolation, I would call the Mormon Church the "grand villain to social equality".

The church does not support homosexuality, whether or not they overtly treat gays as second-class citizens notwithstanding. They not only refuse to perform same-sex marriages, as revealed by this discussion, they also refuse to place children in same-sex households. Furthermore, the church encourages homosexuals under its wing to pursue a life of celibacy, which is as unhealthy as it is socially backward. If you wish to dispute this, you should know it was revealed to me by a Catholic gay altar boy who I interviewed as part of a research assignment I did on religion in my final year of high school - and the most disturbing part of all? He said it as though it was the most normal thing in the world.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

You hate to come off as condescending or rude, yet still you manage to soldier through and do it anyway.

I'm glad that you've had such a positive experience with religion, but I'm sorry to say that the evidence regardless points overwhelmingly in the opposite direction.

The fact that indoctrination hasn't happened to you doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. I've seen it happen to a few friends of mine, who have as a consequence assumed lesser roles in my life. I wouldn't go so far as to call the institution itself evil, but there is an evil within. This isn't specific to the Catholic Church, but most Christian denominations. If it's any consolation, I would call the Mormon Church the "grand villain to social equality".

The church does not support homosexuality, whether or not they overtly treat gays as second-class citizens notwithstanding. They not only refuse to perform same-sex marriages, as revealed by this discussion, they also refuse to place children in same-sex households. Furthermore, the church encourages homosexuals under its wing to pursue a life of celibacy, which is as unhealthy as it is socially backward. If you wish to dispute this, you should know it was revealed to me by a Catholic gay altar boy who I interviewed as part of a research assignment I did on religion in my final year of high school - and the most disturbing part of all? He said it as though it was the most normal thing in the world.

A life of celibacy is regarded as very holy in the Catholic faith. All clergy are required to take a vow of celibacy; whether or not they are homosexual. Celibacy is very healthy as it is the only surefire way to avoid STD infection and unwanted pregnancies. The Church actually forbids all sex outside of marriage, be it heterosexual or homosexual.

The Catholic church I attend is very homosexual-friendly. The priest even performed a same-sex domestic partnership ceremony, granted that it was not officially recognized by the Church and his performance of the ceremony was purely symbolic.

For example, in case you haven't been able to tell by now, I'm a Republican. Most of my friends outside of my political organizations are Democrats, however. I disagree with them on almost every issue under the sun, but I am still friendly towards them. In the same respect, many Catholics are friendly towards homosexuals even if they disagree with them on some social issues.

tl;dr
The Catholic Church is very friendly towards homosexuals in comparison to many of the fundamentalist Christian denominations out there.

 

[Shining Raichu]

A life of celibacy is regarded as very holy in the Catholic faith. All clergy are required to take a vow of celibacy; whether or not they are homosexual. Celibacy is very healthy as it is the only surefire way to avoid STD infection and unwanted pregnancies. The Church actually forbids all sex outside of marriage, be it heterosexual or homosexual.

The Catholic church I attend is very homosexual-friendly. The priest even performed a same-sex domestic partnership ceremony, granted that it was not officially recognized by the Church and his performance of the ceremony was purely symbolic.

For example, in case you haven't been able to tell by now, I'm a Republican. Most of my friends outside of my political organizations are Democrats, however. I disagree with them on almost every issue under the sun, but I am still friendly towards them. In the same respect, many Catholics are friendly towards homosexuals even if they disagree with them on some social issues.

tl;dr
The Catholic Church is very friendly towards homosexuals in comparison to many of the fundamentalist Christian denominations out there.

The difference between forbidding sex outside of marriage and forbidding gay sex is that it is in part thanks to them that all sexual activities for homosexuals are outside of marriage, and they would even forbid it if marriages were to be granted.

Celibacy is not healthy. While it holds true that it is the only surefire way to prevent pregnancy and STDs, I was referring to mental health. Sexual repression is known to be mentally unsound, and it is my opinion that this is in part to blame for the high numbers of clergy abuse - but that's a different issue, and I doubt the church would ever allow an investigation into that possibility.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

The difference between forbidding sex outside of marriage and forbidding gay sex is that it is in part thanks to them that all sexual activities for homosexuals are outside of marriage, and they would even forbid it if marriages were to be granted.

Celibacy is not healthy. While it holds true that it is the only surefire way to prevent pregnancy and STDs, I was referring to mental health. Sexual repression is known to be mentally unsound, and it is my opinion that this is in part to blame for the high numbers of clergy abuse - but that's a different issue, and I doubt the church would ever allow an investigation into that possibility.

You choose to become a Catholic priest. Practicing Catholics are not required to all be celibate, but it is considered holy to choose to do so on their own. People choose to be celibate by taking a vow of celibacy personally or by voluntarily becoming a part of the clergy.

Sodomy is forbidden across the board as well within the Church, be it between a man and a woman, two men, or two women. I don't see the problem there. I really don't see how it's discriminatory if it's a rule that is applied equally to all sexual orientations.

 

[Timbjerr]

I'm glad that you've had such a positive experience with religion, but I'm sorry to say that the evidence regardless points overwhelmingly in the opposite direction.

The fact that indoctrination hasn't happened to you doesn't mean that it doesn't happen. I've seen it happen to a few friends of mine, who have as a consequence assumed lesser roles in my life. I wouldn't go so far as to call the institution itself evil, but there is an evil within. This isn't specific to the Catholic Church, but most Christian denominations. If it's any consolation, I would call the Mormon Church the "grand villain to social equality".

My point being that judging the entirety of a population for the actions and speech of a small minority is just as prejudiced as a radical Evangelical saying that every homosexual is an immoral sexual deviant when only a very small percentage of gays fit the bill.

The church does not support homosexuality, whether or not they overtly treat gays as second-class citizens notwithstanding. They not only refuse to perform same-sex marriages, as revealed by this discussion, they also refuse to place children in same-sex households. Furthermore, the church encourages homosexuals under its wing to pursue a life of celibacy, which is as unhealthy as it is socially backward. If you wish to dispute this, you should know it was revealed to me by a Catholic gay altar boy who I interviewed as part of a research assignment I did on religion in my final year of high school - and the most disturbing part of all? He said it as though it was the most normal thing in the world.

Regarding the Massachusetts adoption agency business. All the church did was declare its stance. The agencies themselves operate independently of the church. Any agencies that closed simply because of that...well, it's nothing more than a bad business decision.

Also, celibacy is the most normal thing in the world. We're born celibate and we eventually deviate. Although, I'm not one to speak. Because of my asexual orientation, celibacy seems the more natural choice when compared to having sex with either gender. :/

 

[Rainy Day]

Yeah, it's not the Catholics' fault. The Protestants are just as bad.

Also... This may just be personal experience, but I wouldn't call anti-gay Christians a minority... I'd say they're actually quite a majority. (Again, that's just personal experience and if you want to prove me wrong, feel free to do so.)

 

[Shining Raichu]

My point being that judging the entirety of a population for the actions and speech of a small minority is just as prejudiced as a radical Evangelical saying that every homosexual is an immoral sexual deviant when only a very small percentage of gays fit the bill.

What? I'm sorry, I don't even.... what? ZERO percent of gay people are immoral sexual deviants. I... what?

Also, celibacy is the most normal thing in the world. We're born celibate and we eventually deviate.

That's definitely a different way to view it. Humans are sexual beings, yourself apparently excluded. Just because we are born celibate, it doesn't mean that that is the natural state. Hormones kick in at a certain age and we become sexual beings. It's not a deviation at all. I find this example to be disturbing in particular because this man has been raised Catholic from birth, and has clearly been indoctrinated (it happens). He is a sexual being (which is beginning to sound sleazy to say, but I'll press on) that has been encouraged to fight his natural urges because those he looks up to do not approve of them. It's the church abusing their position of power.

Also... This may just be personal experience, but I wouldn't call anti-gay Christians a minority... I'd say they're actually quite a majority. (Again, that's just personal experience and if you want to prove me wrong, feel free to do so.)

That's been my experience too. Then there are people who come in and defend them as though it's all in our heads.

 

[silence27]

I actually do believe they are a minority. They are just very hyped on what they believe and so they join into groups and make themselves heard. But if you actually go out and ask around or look at any thread like...this one for example, you will find they are not as common as they seem. That's just talking about Christians as a whole. Yeah there are several Christians but are they really a MAJORITY? Anti-gay Christians? Why are yall targeting "Anti-gay CHRISTIANS" lol why not just anti-gay period? How does a discussion about homosexuality always get christianity involved? It sounds like thats what makes the idea so popular. I'm not christian myself but there are tons of people who believe in "God" nine out of ten of em will say they don't have a problem with gays.

Anyways I'm not homophobic or a "gay hater" I'm just straight so do I like gays...I mean as a friend I guess lol. Do I think that same sex marraiges are right? Eh I don't know I'm not gay. I'll leave that up to the people who want to get married right? The question is do I feel strongly enough that same sex marraiges are wrong to the point that if I was at a wedding and I hear "Is there any reason why these two should not be married? Speak now or forever hold your peace" would I speak? That's the question right? No. Simple.