protests in Paris against gay marriage...

[ceez]

I'm starting to worry about something that was mentioned on this site a while ago, which was approving of same sex marriage to better single us out to hate groups, which seems to be every other person. and "religious" people are the worse type of people on the planet, I just got back from visiting a super conservative Christian college and if I didn't have someone riding my bumper I was getting cut off. I'm starting to think that most people join religions to make themselves feel like they're better than everyone else.

[Genersis]

I'm starting to worry about something that was mentioned on this site a while ago, which was approving of same sex marriage to better single us out to hate groups, which seems to be every other person. and "religious" people are the worse type of people on the planet, I just got back from visiting a super conservative Christian college and if I didn't have someone riding my bumper I was getting cut off. I'm starting to think that most people join religions to make themselves feel like they're better than everyone else.

Well, if it's any consolation, conservative Christians tend to think the same about atheists/agnostics.(Citing Romans 1:18-23 normally)

I think it's best not to fall into such broad generalisations. At least, not about all religious types.
I'm sure there are people on both sides who feel they are better than the other for knowing the truth, I just doubt they're common enough on either side to use such a broad brush.

[ceez]

Well, if it's any consolation, conservative Christians tend to think the same about atheists/agnostics.(Citing Romans 1:18-23 normally)

I think it's best not to fall into such broad generalisations. At least, not about all religious types.
I'm sure there are people on both sides who feel they are better than the other for knowing the truth, I just doubt there common enough on either side to use such a broad brush.

Yea you're right I was in one of my moods, I'm just tired of all the hate. I should know better too I grew up in the church

[EvenOlderButWiser]

Not really a surprise given its a very Catholic country, with a President who is edging towards being unpopular.

But just to put in into perspective. Population of France = approximately 65 million. Number of protestors = 350k (Police estimate, organisers say 800k) So, as is the norm in most countries who are equalising marriage rights (including the UK) its just a very vocal minority. And they will loose the fight

Personally (as a partnered gay man) Im still not convinced of the need to get married rather than civil partnered. I wouldn't want a church wedding anyway.

ObW
x

[cardiganwearer]

...Personally (as a partnered gay man) Im still not convinced of the need to get married rather than civil partnered. I wouldn't want a church wedding anyway.

ObW
x

Whatever the politics of the matter, or your personal aspirations, it would rid the language of a couple of really inelegant expressions. And we know the straight folk take language seriously, they're always complaining about how they lost the word gay.

[EvenOlderButWiser]

Whatever the politics of the matter, or your personal aspirations, it would rid the language of a couple of really inelegant expressions. And we know the straight folk take language seriously, they're always complaining about how they lost the word gay.

For me, introducing my significant other as my "husband" would just sound stupid, and draw unwanted attention. He's certainly not my wife LoL, although he calls me his husbear ;-)

ObW
x

[Genersis]

Yea you're right I was in one of my moods, I'm just tired of all the hate. I should know better too I grew up in the church

I understand. I have my bad days too.:redface:

[Beau]

From what I've read, the people in France protest a lot. That being said, it's too bad so many of them are against gay marriage and equal rights.

Personally, I don't understand the gay marriage thing. Why do people want to get married so bad? It's just a piece of paper and so many hetero marriages end in disaster. Why inflict the trauma on the gay community?

[Pix]

^^

Many reasons. Just one, so things like this don't happen:

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2008/jun/25/w...ied-visit/

The family vacation cruise that Janice Langbehn, her partner Lisa Marie Pond and three of their four children set out to take in February 2007 was designed to be a celebration of the lesbian couple's 18 years together.

But when Pond suffered a massive stroke onboard before the ship left port and was rushed to Jackson Memorial Hospital, administrators refused to let Langbehn into the Pond's hospital room. A social worker told them they were in an "anti-gay city and state."

Langbehn filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday charging the hospital with negligence and "anti-gay animus" in refusing to recognize her and the children as Pond's family, even after a power of attorney was faxed to the hospital within an hour of their arrival

"No matter what your definition of family is, this family went through terrible indignities," said Donald Hayden, a Miami lawyer who joined the national advocacy group Lambda Legal in bringing the suit. "The partners here did everything they were supposed to do under law and were still denied visitation rights that should have been allowed."

Jackson officials declined to comment, except to say that the hospital follows state and federal laws on patient privacy that can forbid releasing health information to those outside the patient's immediate family.

Pond, 39, was pronounced dead of a brain aneurysm about 18 hours after being admitted to Jackson's Ryder Trauma Center. Langbehn said she was allowed in to see her partner only for about five minutes, as a priest gave Pond the last rites.

"I never thought almost 20 years of love and family could be disregarded in an instant," said Langbehn, a social worker who lives with her children in Lacey, Wash.

And I could go on. It depresses me that I have to keep pointing them out so I just don't feel motivated to show more reasons. Hopefully that's enough anyway.

Btw, note that they WERE NOT CONSIDERED FAMILY. Such is the difference between "civil union" and "marriage" (a non religious ceremony that hets get outside the church all the time, such as with the Justice of the Peace, and btw, there are churches who would marry gays if allowed, not to mention other religions). And some thought they had it bad because they had to sit at the back of the bus. (Not to put down what other minorities faced, and I'm certainly aware this was one of the least indignities put up with, but it gobsmacks me that people can realize just how unjust and bad it was to make people sit at the back like a kid and yet somehow not realize that this--one treated as less than human and love as unreal--is far worse than that.)

[Pix]

And more on why marriage has its legal protections so that if anything then gays need them even more than straights (since it's easy to post the YT):




There are so many more subtle reasons, the reason above and the YT link is just more at the core. It's a very big deal to me, and would be even if I never intended to marry.