I thought this was great. Found it at: Daily Kos: State of the Nation

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"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

Before I got on tonight I was thinking "gee, I wonder if someone will bring up gay marriage?". Well, here it is.

I had no intention of getting into this. We all know how we feel, some agree, some disagree with gay marriage. I don't think that anyone who is against would have said a word. No need. I still do not want to debate the issue. But, this email that you posted brings up many valid issues that ppl have with gay marriage but they are twisted in such a way as to sound ridiculous. Fine. But, if a conservative had done something similar....all hell would have broken loose. You are making fun of other's beliefs and like I said, if the tables were turned, a conservative would probably be turned in for hate speach

Just to clarify. While I don't believe God intended us to marry the same sex, or have sexual relationships, I think it makes no difference at this point for there to be legal gay marriage.

Melissa

The list is obviously tongue-in-cheek, it's so ridiculous.

I have no problem with gay marriage. Just wait till they have to go through the court system for a divorce like heteros! That's when the "benefits" of a "legal" marriage really kick in

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Mary

Yes, I totally agree with you, Melissa. Marriage should be between a man and woman.

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"Many people lose their tempers merely from seeing you keep yours..."

So, you wouldn't be opposed to a gay couple having a civil union or domestic partnership that acknowledged they were a couple? And afforded them the same rights as a hetero married couple? Is a hetero couple who do not have a minister performing their ceremony NOT married? This is not a religious question, this is a legal issue. Just because the idea of gay marriage offends your morals does not mean that 1) it's wrong, 2) it shouldn't be viewed as a legal issue, or that 3) religious beliefs should take precendence over legal matters.

One of the most inspiring stories that came out due to this new law in California is the lesbian couple who were 83 and 87 and had been together 50 years! 50 years! That's phenomenal--making any relationship last and work for 50 years should be recognized, be it a homosexual relationship or a heterosexual relationship.

The word MARRIAGE can be defined as follows:

5. any close or intimate association or union:
6. a formal agreement between two companies or enterprises to combine operations, resources, etc., for mutual benefit; merger.
7. a blending or matching of different elements or components

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"In life it is so hard to know which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn....."

Marriage should be only between a man and a woman, of the same race and religion, too, because anything else would be unnatural.

While we're at it, I'd also like only pretty people to marry each other, and no wierdos, because we don't want those types having children . . . no people with physical or mental defects of any kind because, as the good Justice Holmes said, "Three generations of imbeciles are enough,” or in the case of people still walking around with defects of some kind today, one generation is enough. I'd prefer they marry in one of the Protestant churches, since those are kind of neutral churches, in June, the only proper month for weddings. And divorce would be against the law, because marriage -- well, that's sanctified, right?

Oh, I'm sure we can think of other proper requirements for marriage, can't we?

What the Gay Brain Looks Like - TIME

If you believe that being gay is a choice, please read this article.
I found it very interesting.

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"In life it is so hard to know which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn....."

Just because California OK'd gay marriages doesn't make it right. What people do in private, though, is their own business. But I feel marriage is a right that belongs only to a man and a woman, not two men or two women.

On the OP's list, number 3, the one about someone marrying their dog - if I'm not mistaken, I think I read something about a man wanting to marry his dog a few years ago. I'll see if I can find it. So is that the next thing -- just because it's a person's 'right' to do what they want -- they can marry their dog??

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"Many people lose their tempers merely from seeing you keep yours..."

OK...so, it's the term marriage you're opposed to or what?
Marriage is a RIGHT? Just like voting, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, owning guns, etc? Hmmmmm....so if it's a right, aren't gays/lesbian protected under the same Constitution and Bill of Rights as "straight" people?

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"In life it is so hard to know which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn....."

Awesome -- it's the Rick Santorum theory!

If gays can marry, then next logical step is world destruction. Woo hoo!

You go to church, right? Remember Sodom and Gomorrah?

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"Many people lose their tempers merely from seeing you keep yours..."

The strangest argument that I ever saw was given by a Sen. John Cornyn in 2004 to the Heritage Foundation. It was titled, "So Your Neighbor Marries a Box Turtle."

There are people out there who think they are Jesus. It's no wonder that someone might want to marry their dog. Whe anyone thinks that legalizing bestial marriages is next when a dumb animal cannot sign or legally enter a contract, is beyond the pale.

Goodness, Sen. Santorum posting on our little board here! That's amazing. Hi, Rick!

You know what I think God hates? Not gays, not gay marriage. I think God hates closed minded, petty people who think that someone else married in a loving relationship is going to somehow affect them.

If God really hates gay -- as your statement implies -- why not leave that to the gays to worry about?

You stay in your own little world and be happy and let all those gay people and us friends of gay people go straight to hell.

Move on, don't look back, leave us alone. You remember Lot's wife, right?

actually if you go back to the root meaning of the word it was a sewing term that was called marriaging which was to join two opposite pieces together.
the opposite term faggoting was to join two like pieces together thus the term that used to be used for homosexuals faggots.

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Always be a first rate version of your self instead of a second rate version of someone else.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.

as with the majority of Biblical stories, there are many interpretations of why God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah--the one you believe, may or may not be factual!

The Bible is a book--translated by man, written by man and published by man. There are several dozen "versions" of the Bible. The one you hold so dear and believe in could very well have been corrupted by a mere mortal man!

Now, would you please address my questions regarding marriage as a right?

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"In life it is so hard to know which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn....."

ROFLOL, good one.

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"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

And simply b/c the religious right wants it outlawed doesn't make it right. These same people didn't want interracial marriage either.

And PUHLEESE. The dog analogy is so overdone and makes no sense at all. Last I looked, dogs aren't considered sentient beings. So what if some idiot wanted to marry his dog. are you comparing all gay people to said idiot?

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"Is God willing to prevent evil, but not able? Then he is not omnipotent. Is he able, but not willing? Then he is malevolent. Is he both able and willing? Then whence cometh evil? Is he neither able nor willing? Then why call him God? " ~Epicurus

Here we go again! Of course, you're going to say that the Bible was written by men. If you don't believe the Bible is written by God (II Tim. 3:16) 'inspired of God', which means God-breathed, then there is no reasoning on your part to even believe that Sodom and Gomorrah even existed. So why argue your point if you don't even believe the Bible?

As for the nit-picking of the use of the word 'right', well, to me that is just something you're trying to use to make your argument work for you. Marriage of a man and woman is an institution blessed by God.

No where did I say that God hates gays. You read what you wanted it to read. As for letting the gays worry about it, ok. That's between God and the gay person.

"You stay in your own little world and be happy and let all those gay people and us friends of gay people go straight to hell. Move on, don't look back, leave us alone. You remember Lot's wife, right? (Not my words but quoted by someone on this thread). That is a scary thing to say -- let all those gay people and us friends of gay people go straight to hell. That is not a good mindset. It is scary. Sometimes I wonder if people even understand the seriousness of what they're actually saying. Yes, Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt because she did look back I would think because of the horribleness of what was happening during the destruction of Sodom and Gomarrah.

Squeak, I LOVE your root meaning definitions! That's about as definitive as I've ever seen! No one can argue with that one.

And the dog analogy was only mentioned because it was mentioned in the OP's first post!

California voters will have the last word in November, when they vote on a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman. Right now, over 1 million people have signed petitions for the amendment to be on the November 2008 ballot.

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"Many people lose their tempers merely from seeing you keep yours..."

Not surprised that you don't understand my meaning. I'm not remotely worried about going to hell.

I do think some others on this thread might want to pack some warm-weather clothes, though.

Where's the deer? It's a shame to waste this human-sized salt lick.

jaded you obviously have your mind made up because you cajole any opposing opinion!
so why bother to ask the question? unless you like to start an argument and show how you can stomp it down!

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Always be a first rate version of your self instead of a second rate version of someone else.[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
What the country needs is dirtier fingernails and cleaner minds.

Oh, I understand what you meant exactly. I'm glad you're not worried, though. Why the funny quote about the deer and human-size salt lick? The Bible says that's what Lot's wife turned in to. Now you're making fun of what's in the Bible, too?

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"Many people lose their tempers merely from seeing you keep yours..."

I do not believe that the Bible is the infalliable word of God--simply because while it may have been inspired by God when first written, man has re-intrepeted passages and/or made mistakes in translation. Plus, there is historic evidence that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah existed--and with or without the Bible, there are still several different theories as to the hows and whys of their demise.

I am not nit-picking the use of the word right. You stated that you felt marriage was a right of a man and woman. I asked you to explain what you meant by right--you chose not to address that until now. And even now, you are becoming defensive and angry in your replies. I'm trying to sort out what exactly you have an issue with. Is it simply the usage of the word MARRIAGE in relations to homosexual unions? Would you be ok if it were labeled something else, but yet gave them the same legal rights and priviledges and protections as hetero married couples?

FWIW--there's also mention in the Bible of races not intermingling, what's your opinion on that?

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"In life it is so hard to know which bridges to cross and which bridges to burn....."