>So why are US Conservatives against same-sex marriage? Do they want to >force same-sex couples to live in sin?
They don't want them to be gay at all. Some of them believe that gay people choose to be gay and that they should therefore choose to be straight. Some are afraid that removing the social stigma from being gay will somehow encourage people who aren't gay to choose to be gay. It's hard to argue with these people because they are impervious to reason. Given the existence of the social stigma, why would anyone CHOOSE to be gay? Why would anyone subject themselves willingly to prejudice, discrimination, physical danger, etc., if they actually COULD choose to be different? It makes no sense. The argument against legal gay marriage founders on any but the most narrowminded of religious views. Homophobes complain that gays are irresponsible and promiscuous. But then, when gays WANT to settle down and form stable, responsible, monogamous unions, the homophobes don't like that either. Well, logically, you can't have it both ways. Don't want them to play around? LET THEM GET MARRIED! Also, the idea that permitting same-sex couples to form legal civil marriages will somehow negatively impact on heterosexual marriages is the worst kind of hysterical irrationality. Is there some finite number of marriages permitted in the physical universe, so that we can't afford to "waste" any of them on gay couples? Surely the more love the better. Stable, loving, truly consensual unions of well-matched, choosing adults are good for society in general, to say nothing of the people involved. The believf that homosexuality is sinful can't be countered by logical, rational, or secular evidence or arguments. Gambling is also considered by many to be sinful; why is that permitted? No religious body that objects to homosexuality can be forced to recognize same-sex marriages. But they're not being asked to. A civil society that truly believes in freedom, in the right of adults to make their own choices provided they don't injure others, has to be able to distinguish between what the state will permit in the civil sphere and what some people may object to. And as a matter of simple equity, to say nothing of the equal protection of the laws, gay Americans, who are taxpayers, should have the same rights as everyone else. Don't want a gay marriage? Don't have one. -- Tom Beck www.prydonians.org www.mercerjewishsingles.org "I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never dreamed I'd see the last." - Dr Jerry Pournelle _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
