Wednesday, November 5, 2008
To take a phrase from comedian Lewis Black, taking issue with gay marriage should be on page six on the list of things that this country needs to consider, right behind “Are we eating too much garlic as a people?”
Why is this on my mind? Because Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin recently brought up that she is all for banning gay marriage.
What does discussing gay marriage accomplish? Palin should be more focused on brushing up on what her constitutional duties are instead of getting served by a third-grader.
For those of you who haven’t heard, Palin was asked by a third-grader the duties of the vice president, and she said the VP was in charge of the Senate and could work to direct legislative policy and didn’t mention succession or the tie-break vote, which are the only powers given by the Constitution.
If we’re going to start banning select people from getting married because that’s how we set up a foundation for success, we should at least give the gays a chance. How do we know they can’t successfully raise a family?
If we’re going to start banning people from getting married, why not start with alcoholics? I am the son of an alcoholic father who has not been in my life since I was 13 years old.
Since my mother divorced him, I rarely get phone calls, never receive birthday presents (and have to remind him how old I am each time, if he calls on the right day), and after I returned from living in Europe and surprised him and my grandmother on Christmas, he promptly passed out at 11 a.m. He left my mother with three kids and $17,000 in child support debt, still unpaid.
I’m not hesitant to say I’m a tad resentful, but does he seem qualified to raise a family?
Or how about someone who has a history of domestic violence? As many felony assault records these people may have, they are still permitted to marry. And then if they happen to have a child, they beat the hell out of them. They may go to prison, but they are free to marry once they get out. Should they be allowed to marry?
This country needs to prioritize. How about this? We figure out Iraq and Afghanistan. We repair our economy and get an energy policy. We get a decent educational platform and health insurance reform. We upgrade our bridges, levies and highways. We fix social security along with Medicaid and Medicare.
Suddenly gay marriage doesn’t seem that important, now does it?
— — Graham is a Columbus, Ohio, graduate student in exercise physiology.
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Comments
Graham: Is gay marriage really what we're worried about?
ugh. just because your childhood experience was traumatic, you deem it plausible to play roulette with the welfare of other children? it seems you have the same cavalier attitude as your father in regards to the emotional security of minors.
why are you in such a rush to cave into the petulant demands of homosexuals?
Graham: Is gay marriage really what we're worried about?
todd1007-
why are you in such a rush to crush the rights of homosexuals? Gay people are everywhere, and most, if not all, will come into contact with children. Perhaps more studies should be done on homosexual families, but why shouldn't two responsible adults be allowed to have the same life and familial experiences that heterosexual adults are allowed to have? More children need to be exposed to the idea that it's okay for two people of the same gender to love each other- if that's how they feel. Not doing so would lead to hate speech like the kind you spout on these forums.
Graham: Is gay marriage really what we're worried about?
I'm sorry, I'm not usually one of those who chases comments trying to get the upper hand, but I knew the delusion-based-bigotry...err..."family values" crowd would be showing up in full effect.
So OK, GW, your turn. 1) You claim that marriage has been defined "from the beginning of existence" as between a man and woman. Really? I can only assume from your statement that you must have at least a passing interest in anthropology or even general history. Let's assume that's the case. Of course, the academic mind you so clearly hold would be aware that "marriage," sanctioned by the state (as we know it today) occurred after the Reformation. So GW, I gotta ask: since a Western state didn't regulate marriage until more than a millennium after Constantine legalized Christianity, I just wonder where you base your claim that for all of "human existence" governments have legally defined marriage as between a man and a woman?
2) You state homosexuality is a behavior. OK, I can't deny that. But what, then, is heterosexuality? If it's a behavior (which it of course is--look up the definition), can't we just go ahead and ban ALL marriage if we wanted to? By your logic, yes! Imagine the fluster Pat Robertson would work himself into if that got on the ballot...
You say governments can outlaw behaviors they don't like. Let's pretend one day the government decides it doesn't like the behavior of speaking freely, and tells me it's illegal to speak my mind. It just took away my right, but you justify it because you say governments apparently have carte blanche to limit rights as it sees fit. Sounds a lot like dictatorship.
3) "What about marriage for polygamy and pedophiles?" Obvious grammar problems aside, your comparisons are just incongruous. Polygamy is a practice; pedophilia is a psychological disorder. Of course, since the Bible and your pastor tells you homosexuality--a behavior which occurs in nature--is an abomination, you go ahead and lump these in with it.
GW, whoever you are, your myopic and fallacious talking points are tired. Let's call a spade a spade: you and others like you in the religious right wing have an obsession with controlling the personal lives of others. You can claim that it is a crusade to preserve "traditional values," but it's painfully clear that it is nothing new. At its core, it is the same thing we've seen for centuries: fanatical religious bullies imposing their will on the weak. All in the name of serving a fictional, vindictive deity.
I hope for the day when rational people rise up in solidarity to defeat such grotesque and baseless acts of discrimination.
Graham: Is gay marriage really what we're worried about?
i don't find you passion for the plight of homosexuals disgusting, i find your religious bashing disgusting.
Graham: Is gay marriage really what we're worried about?
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Graham: Is gay marriage really what we're worried about?
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