Why is opposition to gay marriage so strong?

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Red Dawn

Elite Member
Jun 4, 2001
57,529
3
0
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Originally posted by: loki8481
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: loki8481
I think it's mostly about the buttsex
You think the Far Right is afraid of losing it's air tight integrity?

I think sex between gay men grosses people out.

I think if there were a way to just legalize lesbian marriage, it would pass.

That's because the female body is beautiful, and twice as much of a beautiful thing is good. The male form is nasty, smell, sweaty and hairy. One of them having sex is bad enough, two of them doing together is repulsive. I find it odd that more women aren't lesbians quite frankly. Lesbians who would of course invite me to join them.

Yeah well true Lesbians are more like Rosie O'Donell than the beautiful porn stars most men fantasize about and they can be just as hairy, sweaty, smelly and repulsive.
 

AreaCode7O7

Senior member
Mar 6, 2005
931
1
0
Originally posted by: Rainsford
We have thread after thread on the topic of gay marriage, and I don't want to start another one debating whether we like gay marriage or not. We never seem to get anywhere, and I'm forced to think that people will change their minds or not in their own time, debating gay marriage is like debating whether or not you like Chinese food...whatever anyone else thinks, it seems like people will think whatever they want to think about it.

But really debating gay marriage as a concept is missing the point. People in the US are free to think whatever they like about most things, including gay marriage. It's new and different and given the generally sexually conservative nature of this country, I'm not surprised that some people don't approve of gay marriage.

Here's where I get a little confused though...why is opposition to gay marriage as a legal right so incredibly strong? It's an issue that draws incredibly strong outrage from a large number of people, raises millions of dollars of political campaign funds, and fuels a movement that will stop at nothing to make sure gay marriage is banned. When the courts decided it was an implicit right in the California constitution, the anti-gay marriage folks went so far as to try to amend the constitution to specifically prohibit it. How many issues, even the important ones, rate a constitutional amendment? But somehow gay marriage, an issue with less than obvious effects on the people voting against it, meets the criteria to spur a national debate and a strong opposition movement?

Part of living in a free country means there are things that are allowed that you don't particularly like or agree with. Anti-gay marriage folks obviously know this, because they aren't stupid, but for some reason gay marriage is an issue that they feel so strongly about that they're willing to make an exception. It's tempting to just say they are being bigoted, but not liking gay marriage and not liking it enough to make it a major political issue are two very different things...and not approving of gay marriage doesn't quite explain the strength of the movement opposing it.

Honestly I think it's a "culture war" issue more than anything else. It's not gay marriage itself that pisses off its opposition, it's that people are trying to allow behavior that social conservatives don't approve of. If gay marriage was explicitly legal already, I doubt there would be very much effort to change that law. But listening to the rhetoric of the people who oppose gay marriage, I think the issue might just be a focal point for a face-off between different social views. Gay marriage opponents don't want gay marriage because it represents a cultural "loss" for them, I'm not sure they really care about gay marriage itself.

But then again, I might be wrong. Still, the fact that gay marriage is such a huge issue makes little sense to me...whatever negative effects gay marriage has on society, they can't possibly be strong enough to warrant the kind of opposition gay marriage sees. Something else must be going on...

The term "marriage" is extremely emotionally loaded. I think very few people would oppose the legal rights, they just can't cope with what they perceive as a redefinition of a term that they perceive has had a static definition for thousands of years.

I'd support changing the label for both homo and hetero couples and applying exactly equal legal rights across the board.

Remove the term marriage from the equation and the debate would be completely different, with far fewer worked up peeps from both sides.
 

Superrock

Senior member
Oct 28, 2000
467
1
0
People appose gay marriage because they don't believe that gay rights are being infringed. They don't view gay marriage as being associated with the Civil Rights movement because they don't see gays being actively discriminated against in society. They believe that gays deserve the right to having their Civil Unions and that all rights accorded to from being married should carry over to Civil Unions.

The family values argument stems from the fact that people are afraid that opening this door would promote sexual promiscuity and decline in moral values as a whole.
 

brandonb

Diamond Member
Oct 17, 2006
3,731
2
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People have a tendency to become comfortable with the "norm" (even if its a bad norm), and if anything disrupts it, it upsets people. If someone got hired at a job and gave suggestions how to do things better, it would be considered insulting rather than helpful. That person would be considered a danger to the team and disrupting, and could potentially be fired.

People generally are more open to the idea if they think they came up with the idea themselves. Its ego. If management hires a consultant to come in and see how the business works and gave suggestions on how to improve, that would be considered the managements idea. They get the kudos. They listen to the solution, do something about it, and think it was money well spent. Even though the employees have been saying the same thing for years and have been ignored or even fired.

That said, with gay marriage, and other society issues, its the same thing, just at a larger scale, work places have a culture, so does society as a whole. Gay marriage is disrupting the norm, and people who shout for it are considered "dangerous" to the team. So they aer ignored, and even thrown under the bus, even its justified or not. The only way to really fix the problem is make the majority think its their idea to bring the issue to the table and allow it.

The only way possible is brainwashing. Media, media, and media. It's been doing wonders the last 10 years, just keep doing it, and in another 10 gay marriage will be legal.

I'm still against gay marriage. :)
 

SMOGZINN

Lifer
Jun 17, 2005
14,359
4,640
136
Originally posted by: eskimospy
I mean, can you think of many other groups where members of it are beaten to death on a fairly regular basis?

The Detroit Lions? At least for the last 16 weeks. Yea, I'm tired of beating this dead horse, people want freedom as long as you are free to do only what they want you to do. Let them have it. Eventually they will wake up and realize that they have been pissing away their own freedoms. I just hope it comes before the bloodshed, not after.
 
May 16, 2000
13,522
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Right now people who are opposed to gay marriage can hide behind various legalities for their argument. They can argue the nature of marriage (secular v. sacred) the origin of the definition of marriage, etc.

Should it ever be concretely legal for persons to receive equal treatment for all domestic partnerships/civil unions those who oppose homosexuality would lose every defense for their position and be forced to admit inherent prejudice.

The entire opposition to gay marriage is about not being proven to be a narrow-minded bigot, and nothing more.
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,562
9
81
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Originally posted by: loki8481
Originally posted by: Red Dawn
Originally posted by: loki8481
I think it's mostly about the buttsex
You think the Far Right is afraid of losing it's air tight integrity?

I think sex between gay men grosses people out.

I think if there were a way to just legalize lesbian marriage, it would pass.

That's because the female body is beautiful, and twice as much of a beautiful thing is good. The male form is nasty, smell, sweaty and hairy. One of them having sex is bad enough, two of them doing together is repulsive. I find it odd that more women aren't lesbians quite frankly. Lesbians who would of course invite me to join them.

Yeah well true Lesbians are more like Rosie O'Donell than the beautiful porn stars most men fantasize about and they can be just as hairy, sweaty, smelly and repulsive.

Stop ruining my dreams!
 

Robor

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
16,979
0
76
Originally posted by: Rainsford
Originally posted by: Robor
Originally posted by: loki8481
I think sex between gay men grosses people out.

I think if there were a way to just legalize lesbian marriage, it would pass.

I doubt it. They'd say lesbian marriage would open the door to men getting married and incest and people marrying their animals. Bigoted stupidity.

I'm trying to look PAST explanations like "bigoted stupidity" if possible. That's not very helpful to figuring out where people are coming from, and while I'm sure you're right about the motivations of SOME people, I have a hard time believing that's universal among people who oppose gay marriage.

I think a vast majority of people are raised being told 'it's just wrong' and don't question why.
 
Feb 6, 2007
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Originally posted by: Superrock
The family values argument stems from the fact that people are afraid that opening this door would promote sexual promiscuity and decline in moral values as a whole.

Yup. Allowing people to get married to a person of the same sex will promote sexual promiscuity. Of course, this requires changing the definition of promiscuity to include having sex with only one partner who you happen to be married to, provided you are, in fact, both queer...
 

jman19

Lifer
Nov 3, 2000
11,225
664
126
Originally posted by: Robor
Originally posted by: loki8481
I think sex between gay men grosses people out.

I think if there were a way to just legalize lesbian marriage, it would pass.

I doubt it. They'd say lesbian marriage would open the door to men getting married and incest and people marrying their animals. Bigoted stupidity.

Hey, we should just outlaw marriage all together. After all, if you allow men and women to get married, what's next? Marriage between men and men, women and women?

;)
 

jonks

Lifer
Feb 7, 2005
13,918
20
81
Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy
Originally posted by: Superrock
The family values argument stems from the fact that people are afraid that opening this door would promote sexual promiscuity and decline in moral values as a whole.

Yup. Allowing people to get married to a person of the same sex will promote sexual promiscuity. Of course, this requires changing the definition of promiscuity to include having sex with only one partner who you happen to be married to, provided you are, in fact, both queer...

hey, you want to change the definition of marriage, they get to change the definition of promiscuity. fair is fair. Or is it only gays that get to redefine words? That doesn't smell like equality to me!
 

BoberFett

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
37,562
9
81
Originally posted by: eskimospy
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Originally posted by: eskimospy
I mean, can you think of many other groups where members of it are beaten to death on a fairly regular basis?

Link?

Here, let me google that for you.

I still don't see anything that indicates it happens on a fairly regular basis you self-important prick. Shit, completely random murders are more common than gay bashing from what I'm seeing in your very own links.
 

Mxylplyx

Diamond Member
Mar 21, 2007
4,197
101
106
While I see the merits in society and government trying to promote STABLE same sex marriages for it's obvious benefits to social stability, hetero couples as a whole have made such a sham of the institution of marriage that the argument that gay marriage undermines same sex marriage no longer holds any merit. I have no problem with gays getting married. They can pay the same to get divorced too.
 

BMW540I6speed

Golden Member
Aug 26, 2005
1,055
0
0
Its all about "tradition". I believe opponents have used the term "deeply rooted in tradition." Tradition. It was tradition for women to be property in marriage. It was tradition to have slaves. To not let blacks and whites marry. Just because something has been around for a certain amount of time doesn't make it right. If courts are allowed to rule using basically non-proven, unproven, non-facts but try to form a "legal" opinion based on personal prejudice, gays and lesbians will always be second class citizens.

I've never understood the gay marriage debate. Opponents masks their anxiety over discomfort with the idea of gay sex by hiding behind religious "convictions." I don't believe in state sanctioned gay marriage. I don't believe in state sanctioned heterosexual marriage. The state has no business deciding who can participate in what is essentially a religious rite. Equality for all under law. Let individual churches decide whom to marry. How's that for equal?




 

fskimospy

Elite Member
Mar 10, 2006
88,254
55,808
136
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Originally posted by: eskimospy
Originally posted by: BoberFett
Originally posted by: eskimospy
I mean, can you think of many other groups where members of it are beaten to death on a fairly regular basis?

Link?

Here, let me google that for you.

I still don't see anything that indicates it happens on a fairly regular basis you self-important prick. Shit, completely random murders are more common than gay bashing from what I'm seeing in your very own links.

I'm sorry that a collection of links describing gay men being beaten to death at regular intervals over a period of years doesn't indicate a 'fairly regular basis' to you.
 

Ozoned

Diamond Member
Mar 22, 2004
5,578
0
0
I think that you will find that the % of people that oppose Gay marriage is approx. = to the number of people that attend church regularly & approx. = to the number of people that oppose abortion. Like it or not, right or wrong, the moral foundation of a society must exist before it can be changed.

Another part of living in a free country means there are things that aren't allowed that you do particularly like.
 

jjzelinski

Diamond Member
Aug 23, 2004
3,750
0
0
Originally posted by: Atomic Playboy
Originally posted by: Superrock
The family values argument stems from the fact that people are afraid that opening this door would promote sexual promiscuity and decline in moral values as a whole.

Yup. Allowing people to get married to a person of the same sex will promote sexual promiscuity. Of course, this requires changing the definition of promiscuity to include having sex with only one partner who you happen to be married to, provided you are, in fact, both queer...

lol, well played
 

jjzelinski

Diamond Member
Aug 23, 2004
3,750
0
0
Originally posted by: Mxylplyx
...same sex couples as a whole have made such a sham of the institution of marriage that the argument that gay marriage undermines same sex marriage no longer holds any merit.

Where in the hell did you get that idea from?! Aside from a clear lack of evidence (not a whole lot of married gay folks to draw that kind of judgment from), but if anyone has made a "sham of the institution of marriage" it's us heterosexuals!

I think your comment is symptomatic of what I see as the nature of the anti gay marriage "movement" (bizarre, that one...) and that's that people like you are motivated by fear as opposed to rationality. Having an issue like gay marriage allows you to feel "normal" by coalescing with all the other folks against the "inferior" gays, thereby making you feel better about yourselves.

It's that overwhelming desire to feel normal and to fit in that trumps your sense of rationality (which is trying to tell you how senseless it is to get all worked about two consenting individuals trying to make a mature, constructive decision to devote themselves to another person in matrimony.)
 

Double Trouble

Elite Member
Oct 9, 1999
9,270
103
106
I find these kinds of threads interesting, the pro-gay-marriage crowd is just as rabidly irrational as the anti-gay-marriage folks, but they fail to see it. Anyone who opposes their viewpoint must be bigoted, a homophobe, hateful, stupid, uneducated etc etc etc. I'm none of those, and yet very much support a ban on gay marriages, including donating money to make sure the Ohio version of the DOMA act was set in the constitution so no activist judge could throw it out on a whim. Unfortunately a legitimate discussion on the legitimate questions posed by Rainsford is very unlikely because of the irrational folks on both sides.
 

CADsortaGUY

Lifer
Oct 19, 2001
25,162
1
76
www.ShawCAD.com
Originally posted by: Double Trouble
I find these kinds of threads interesting, the pro-gay-marriage crowd is just as rabidly irrational as the anti-gay-marriage folks, but they fail to see it. Anyone who opposes their viewpoint must be bigoted, a homophobe, hateful, stupid, uneducated etc etc etc. I'm none of those, and yet very much support a ban on gay marriages, including donating money to make sure the Ohio version of the DOMA act was set in the constitution so no activist judge could throw it out on a whim. Unfortunately a legitimate discussion on the legitimate questions posed by Rainsford is very unlikely because of the irrational folks on both sides.

:thumbsup:
 

Perknose

Forum Director & Omnipotent Overlord
Forum Director
Oct 9, 1999
46,936
10,827
147
Originally posted by: Double Trouble
I find these kinds of threads interesting, the pro-gay-marriage crowd is just as rabidly irrational as the anti-gay-marriage folks, but they fail to see it. Anyone who opposes their viewpoint must be bigoted, a homophobe, hateful, stupid, uneducated etc etc etc. I'm none of those, and yet very much support a ban on gay marriages, including donating money to make sure the Ohio version of the DOMA act was set in the constitution so no activist judge could throw it out on a whim. Unfortunately a legitimate discussion on the legitimate questions posed by Rainsford is very unlikely because of the irrational folks on both sides.

Fair enough. What is your rational basis for opposing gay marriage?
 

keird

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2002
3,714
9
81
Originally posted by: Ozoned
I think that you will find that the % of people that oppose Gay marriage is approx. = to the number of people that attend church regularly & approx. = to the number of people that oppose abortion. Like it or not, right or wrong, the moral foundation of a society must exist before it can be changed.

Another part of living in a free country means there are things that aren't allowed that you do particularly like.

I disagree. There are a few gay co-workers that I highly respect, I wish them well and would endorse them if they opted to adopt a child. I'm unsure of 'marriage' with their partners. Isn't that a religious thing? I would endorse a civil union, though.

From Massachusttes where gay marriage is legal.

 

jjzelinski

Diamond Member
Aug 23, 2004
3,750
0
0
Originally posted by: keird
Originally posted by: Ozoned
I think that you will find that the % of people that oppose Gay marriage is approx. = to the number of people that attend church regularly & approx. = to the number of people that oppose abortion. Like it or not, right or wrong, the moral foundation of a society must exist before it can be changed.

Another part of living in a free country means there are things that aren't allowed that you do particularly like.

I disagree. There are a few gay co-workers that I highly respect, I wish them well and would endorse them if they opted to adopt a child. I'm unsure of 'marriage' with their partners. Isn't that a religious thing? I would endorse a civil union, though.

From Massachusttes where gay marriage is legal.

"Isn't that a religious thing?"

Well, that's a significant point of contention. Secularists, like myself, believe the country was founded with secular intentions to free men from the constraints of conflicting religious beliefs; I feel this is pretty well established in our body of laws.

On the other hand, Christians believe the country was founded with Christian ideals and intentions and therefore should weigh heavily on the legislative and judicial processes of our government.

The later frame of mind naturally tries to assert it's condemnation of homosexuality into our body of laws due it's conflict with scripture. The former attempts to prevent ANY overt religious bias or influence towards one group of people at the expense of another.

Distinguishing between marriage, a legal institution as far as our body of laws is concerned, and civil unions overtly incorporates into common law a religious viewpoint of one particular religion/group of people at the expense of others liberties; it legitimizes the "sovereignty" of Christianity in our secular legal system.

Hopefully I've summarized in fair tone what I feel is a necessary element of the gay-marriage debate to parse before further judgment or conclusion is rendered.
 

keird

Diamond Member
Jan 18, 2002
3,714
9
81
Originally posted by: jjzelinski
Originally posted by: keird
Originally posted by: Ozoned
I think that you will find that the % of people that oppose Gay marriage is approx. = to the number of people that attend church regularly & approx. = to the number of people that oppose abortion. Like it or not, right or wrong, the moral foundation of a society must exist before it can be changed.

Another part of living in a free country means there are things that aren't allowed that you do particularly like.

I disagree. There are a few gay co-workers that I highly respect, I wish them well and would endorse them if they opted to adopt a child. I'm unsure of 'marriage' with their partners. Isn't that a religious thing? I would endorse a civil union, though.

From Massachusttes where gay marriage is legal.

"Isn't that a religious thing?"

Well, that's a significant point of contention. Secularists, like myself, believe the country was founded with secular intentions to free men from the constraints of conflicting religious beliefs; I feel this is pretty well established in our body of laws.

On the other hand, Christians believe the country was founded with Christian ideals and intentions and therefore should weigh heavily on the legislative and judicial processes of our government.

The later frame of mind naturally tries to assert it's condemnation of homosexuality into our body of laws due it's conflict with scripture. The former attempts to prevent ANY overt religious bias or influence towards one group of people at the expense of another.

Distinguishing between marriage, a legal institution as far as our body of laws is concerned, and civil unions overtly incorporates into common law a religious viewpoint of one particular religion/group of people at the expense of others liberties; it legitimizes the "sovereignty" of Christianity in our secular legal system.

Hopefully I've summarized in fair tone what I feel is a necessary element of the gay-marriage debate to parse before further judgment or conclusion is rendered.


...phuh. That's a lot of words, man. I'll read them, though. [edit: I'm still undecided with marriage vs. civil union after re-reading... thrice (that's a big word)]

p.s.edit: Who want in on gay divorce video? That's a potentially profitable and untapped market! That's some funny stuff, there.