I don’t quite understand how some people think and I’ve given up trying. People seem to have a completely different type of logic than I do, and it baffles me. Since when did it become “just” and “right” to take AWAY rights from a group of people? I though the USA was all about “freedom and justice for all.” Was that a lie?
To the people that are attempting to hide their obvious hate, how in the world is this not about bigotry and how can you turn it around and say that same-sex couples are trying to take away YOUR rights? Did I miss something? How does this in any way affect you? No one is forcing you to do anything. No rights of yours are being taken away. You are still free to say how much you disagree with this issue and how wrong you think it is. You are still free to teach your children the same and to gather and hate together with your friends. You are also still free to marry. Your churches will not be forced to marry those they don’t want to marry and last time I checked, there is no marriage class in schools, so be quiet about the whole teaching it in schools thing (the trip the one class took to their teacher’s marriage was, like any other trip, subject to parental approval, so no, parents were not forced to have their children witness something that might scar them for life, in their opinions. God forbid giving them all of the information and letting them work things out for themselves as they grow up. Your right to raise ignorant children is still protected). Nothing has changed for you at all and to assert otherwise is utter rubbish. Why is this such a big deal that people that have no stake at all need to impose their beliefs on people just trying to live a normal life with the one they love?
Yes, believe it or not, you are the ones imposing beliefs on others, not the other way around. You keep trying to say how that’s not true and how you really, truly, deep in your heart like gay people and even have a gay friend that you talk to every once in a while. How you keep asserting this is beyond me. Or is this the whole “love the sinner, hate the sin” patronizing BS people always spout?
Helping pass a law/constitutional amendment/what have you, that takes something away from one group and gives it to others is DISCRIMINATION and INEQUALITY. You can’t sidestep that, but wow do people try. At least be open and honest, come on.
What real and rational reasons do people have against it? I say real and rational because saying “because God says it’s wrong” isn’t a good answer. That’s your belief, not everyone’s reality (No, I don't have anything against religion, just people that use it as an excuse to hate). It also shows no thought and should be immediately disqualified because I thought personal religious beliefs were supposed to be separated from matters of state and law. The whole “separation of church and state” thing is really being ignored recently, which is quite disturbing to me, but that’s something else entirely.
Saying, “well, it will open up the floodgates so people can marry animals and have 100 spouses,” is also not a real argument because that is nowhere near a logical progression. This is most argued reason against same-sex marriage besides something having to do with religion that I have heard. Honestly, it’s just stupid. I can respect people’s beliefs and I hesitate in calling things ‘stupid’, but that argument is so beyond ridiculous, that I just can’t help it. Well, I guess humans are technically animals (yes, evolution happened. Sorry, we are still in the animal kingdom), but I was talking about non-human animals. My bad.
This issue does not directly affect me. That does not mean I shouldn’t still be outraged. This goes against everything America is supposed to stand for. People should be against it just because it is fundamentally wrong. But if you want a reason that has to do with you, think about it this way. If one group can have their rights taken away while people celebrate and cheer because of it, how can you be so confident that all the rights you currently enjoy are safe? What if someone told you one day that you couldn’t state what you believed any longer? What if a constitutional amendment passed that stated that white men making over $200,000 a year couldn’t vote? You say it’s ridiculous, and that those are rights that everyone should enjoy? Well, I agree with you. But what some people don’t get is that same-sex marriage is in the same category. There was a time when it was thought that women didn’t deserve to vote and were inferior to men. Thankfully, that is no longer the case (the remaining Neanderthals on power trips and certain disappointing salary gaps notwithstanding). This is how it should be and what amendments are for. To right injustices and grant equality to all. Not to do the exact opposite.
And about the whole, “the people have spoken, this is fair and just, so get over it, losers,” attitude…are you serious? Do you know how many things would be outlawed and how many rights we would lose if the majority of people that got out to vote on it were able to decide on things like this? The majority cannot impose their opinion of what is moral on the minority. They can’t say who has a right and who doesn’t. Amendments and such are created to PROTECT minorities for that exact reason. That is supposed to be the point of these things. It’s not like voting for a senator or whether a tax on internet-purchased goods is a good idea. Those things should be decided in such a way because those things aren’t rights and the only fair way to figure them out is to let the voters fight it out (on a ballot of course). That’s like voting for whether your religion should be enshrined in law as the only correct religion and the only one practiced and recognized in the US. It goes AGAINST a basic right. So if such a vote was passed and people voted for it, then you would be ok with that since “the people have spoken?” Of course not, you are just confident that that would never happen. Taking away basic rights isn’t something that should or can be voted on. Ridiculous and outrageous. Stop spouting that insanity. Name one other right that one group of US citizens is allowed to do but another is barred from doing completely or eventually? (the completely or eventually part hopefully stopping idiotic responses like, “well people who are under a certain age can’t drive, does that mean you support drivers licenses for children?” I don’t put it past some people…). And saying that equal marriage isn’t a right or that “civil unions” will do just fine is ridiculous. Think about it for a while. “Separate but equal” has been proven to be anything but. Why is it ok now?
Marriage is no longer a religious institution. It can contain a religious ceremony and have religious significance, but for many, this is not the case. Marriage is given by the state, therefore it is a right and must be given equally. If this were not true, atheists and people who do not belong to a church would not be able to get married or would also have to get “civil unions” because marriage is a religion-laced word. Lay-people would not have the power to marry someone. My brother would still be single. But guess what, these things happen (and my brother is happily married), so those that contend that same-sex marriage should be outlawed because it is a protected religious institution are dead wrong. It very well may have started out like that, but it is not true anymore.
I don’t care what people do, as long as it doesn’t harm others. That’s how it should be. This unbelievable amendment, and others like it, are causing harm, are absolutely unacceptable, and I am appalled that this passes anywhere, especially in a state like California that is generally thought of as progressive. This makes me weep even more for the current state of humankind. People often say that the world is going to hell and that morality is dead. I agree, although it seems I differ in my definition of what these things mean. To all the couples out there that this travesty touches, my heart goes out to you. I only hope that something can be done about this so you can enjoy the same freedom to love and marry that everyone else has. How can anyone be against that?
