Posted on 11/04/2009 2:59:53 AM PST by guitarist
In Washington State, another referendum on gay couples' equality was also a squeaker. But in this one, gay couples won. The state's domestic partnership law grants gay couples all the rights of married couples at a state level. The usual forces tried to reverse it, as they tried in Maine. But in Washington, the gay side won by 51.1 to 48.9 percent. Again, it's such a slender margin, it's stupid to draw any vast conclusions. But I do want to point out that, from the perspective of just a decade ago, to have an even split on this question in a voter referendum is a huge shift in the culture. In Maine, where the Catholic church did all it could to prevent gays from having civil rights in a very Catholic and rural state, gays do have equality but may now merely be denied the name. The process itself has helped educate and enlighten and deepen the debate about gay people in ways that never happened before the marriage issue came up. I am heart-broken tonight by Maine, and I'd be lying if I said otherwise. Somehow losing by this tiny margin is brutalizing. And because this is a vote on my dignity as a human being, it is hard not to take it personally or emotionally. But I also know that the history of civil rights movements has many steps backward as forward, and some of those reversals actually catalyze the convictions that lead to victories. A decade ago, the marriage issue was toxic. Now it divides evenly. Soon, it will win everywhere. I know for many younger gays and lesbians, this process can seem bewildering and hurtful. But I'm old enough now ...
(Excerpt) Read more at andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com ...
Sorry — strike the words “homosexual husband” above and replace them with “heterosexual husband.”
>> normal homosexual husband
Freudian slip?
“One who engages in homosexual or other immoral behavior is only guilty of that offense. He’s no less of a person!”
Agreed. Now, what can be said of us as Nation (or at least as a State - I’m in Washington) that votes for agreeing to immoral behavior?
This issue is lost.
It’s not even worth running against politically anymore. The issues we’re facing will bring the Republic to an end between Obamacare, cap and trade and the subsequent generational theft that would take place.
Gay marriage is akin to worrying about deck chairs on the Titanic early morning April 15, 1912. Our Republic is in danger of sinking and there are far more pressing issues for us to worry about.
What people passionate about this issue on one side or the other fail to realize that if you have no solvent or sovereign nation or states anymore your marriage doesn’t mean anything anyways except in the eyes of God. Last I heard He wasn’t too keen on the issue.
No. Just was rushed to hit “post” without a good chance to edit...
>> This issue is lost.
The voter in Maine don’t seem to agree with you. Nor do the voters in the other THIRTY states that have voted down gay marriage. And... let’s see... that would be ONE HUNDRED PERCENT of the THIRTY-ONE elections that have been held on the issue of gay marriage.
Lost for RINOs, maybe.
By the way, social issues have great bearing on the other issues that worry you (i.e. cap and trade). They get at the heart of the character of a people that know right from wrong — or not — and so make wise choices — or not.
Social conservatism and fiscal conservatism are of a piece, not separate and unrelated domains.
Liberty and self determination, great things held in high esteem of the people that wrote the constitution.
The concept of allowing states to experiment with social and economic theory instead of forcing the entire nation to undergo the experiment escapes the liberal and progressive mind. ie. Massachusetts has tried universal health care, we are broke and waiting close to six months to see an MD when we have the sniffles (or told go to the ER); therefor the rest of the nation would be foolish to try it. Unfortunately we have homo-marriage (forced on us by courts), and it does not seem to be making much of a social impact, at least where I live in the state.
Just my observations from behind enemy lines!
You couldn’t be more wrong. The push for reordering/dismantling a bedrock institution in society is the spearhead of the nihilist who would destroy America from within. Look at the Massachusetts hellhole if you want proof.
Who cares? Who cares if they get married? Give it to them. I just want them and their perverted lifestyle out of my face.
On the other hand, after Marriage the next thing they’ll want is Adoption. Ick. No way.
But they didn't. The referendum only allows "same sex domestic partners" to have the same rights under the law---NOT marriage.
Quoted from the measure:
"This bill would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations accorded state-registered same-sex and senior domestic partners to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage."
I think they’re already getting adoption approval.
You are being either intentionally provocative, naive, or just really stupid. Same-sex marriage shoves itself right in your face, whether you like it or not. The perverts will make sure of it. Read Massmike's links to MassResistance and view the horror.
On the other hand, after Marriage the next thing they’ll want is Adoption. Ick. No way.
Do you really think you can separate the two? Or are you really that willing to sacrifice children?
Same in substance, different terminology. For all practical purposes, the perverts won in Washington. The law bolsters and rewards homosexual behavior.
The only reason homosexuals want the title of marriage is to disparage it.
“Or are you really that willing to sacrifice children?”
You have a problem understanding “No way”?
“Our Republic is in danger of sinking”
We’re already sunk. We just don’t realize it yet.
When we have mainline churches opening espousing the virtues of homosexuality and homosexual marriages, etc, we're looking to the wrong place for solutions.
We even have Freepers who continue to attend these churches so why should we expect in the long run for voters to continue to vote against gay marriage?
The public schools are permeated with the obsession of homosexuality as well as the entertainment industry but the churches are to be held the most accountable. Government is a reflection of the people.
There is no "no way" when the state deems someone to be married - it WILL be mandated to allowed homosexuals to adopt children the same as real married couples. Catholic Charities was run out of the adoption business - a service they had provided for over a century - in Boston, MA because they could not refuse to place kids with "married" homosexuals. Sorry, but when you willy-nilly allow one, you have to allow the other.
Does this mean that private, religious organizations will have to pay same-sex benefits to employees if they suddenly reveal to their employers that they are gay or lesbian? What about faith-based corporations?
"Amid this bad news, however, never forget that our country has faced far worse travails in the past. In the 20th Century alone, we dealt with two great wars (one of which we initially appeared to be losing); a dozen or so panics and recessions; virulent inflation that led to a 21 1⁄2% prime rate in 1980; and the Great Depression of the 1930s, when unemployment ranged between 15% and 25% for many years. America has had no shortage of challenges.
Without fail, however, we’ve overcome them. In the face of those obstacles – and many others – the real standard of living for Americans improved nearly seven-fold during the 1900s, while the Dow Jones Industrials rose from 66 to 11,497. Compare the record of this period with the dozens of centuries during which humans secured only tiny gains, if any, in how they lived. Though the path has not been smooth, our economic system has worked extraordinarily well over time. It has unleashed human potential as no other system has, and it will continue to do so. America’s best days lie ahead."
America has faced tremendous problems in the past and we've always become better for it. A bit more than a century ago, blacks were property, women couldn't vote, children worked in coal mines, and the average standard of living was horrific. Even at our worst, we are better than every other nation that has ever existed.
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