Difference between revisions of "Gay marriage"

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** This is a definitional argument, and it often confuses the issue. My understanding is that what gay people want, when they say they want the right to "marry", is the right to the legal recognitions and protections that come with marriage. There is no inherent contradiction to gay people being given those rights and protections, so the speaker who sees a contradiction must be defining "marriage" in some other way. A possible compromise position would be to separate the two – tie the legal rights to a word other than "marriage", and apply that universally. --[[User:Woozle|Woozle]] 08:28, 16 Feb 2006 (CST)
 
** This is a definitional argument, and it often confuses the issue. My understanding is that what gay people want, when they say they want the right to "marry", is the right to the legal recognitions and protections that come with marriage. There is no inherent contradiction to gay people being given those rights and protections, so the speaker who sees a contradiction must be defining "marriage" in some other way. A possible compromise position would be to separate the two – tie the legal rights to a word other than "marriage", and apply that universally. --[[User:Woozle|Woozle]] 08:28, 16 Feb 2006 (CST)
 
*** Some states (Vermont, California, and Connecticut) have tried this with "Civil Unions" and many proponents of gay marriage say that it is not enough, they want to redefine marriage. Personally, I believe that the governments should remove the term "marriage" from all government regulations and stipulate those rights for all persons as a "Civil Union," leaving marriages to the religious institutions. [[User:Midian|Midian]] 16:33, 28 July 2006 (EDT)
 
*** Some states (Vermont, California, and Connecticut) have tried this with "Civil Unions" and many proponents of gay marriage say that it is not enough, they want to redefine marriage. Personally, I believe that the governments should remove the term "marriage" from all government regulations and stipulate those rights for all persons as a "Civil Union," leaving marriages to the religious institutions. [[User:Midian|Midian]] 16:33, 28 July 2006 (EDT)
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* '''if we allow gay marriage, we allow anything and everything'''
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** This is essentially a [[slippery slope]] [[circular argument]] – that is, it argues that gay marriage is bad because if we allow it, we might then allow something worse ("something worse" implying that gay marriage is bad, which implies the conclusion in its premise).
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*** Opinionated snarky editorial reply: If we redefine marriage to include gay couples, what's to stop us from gradually refining it until it serves everyone to the best possible extent? --[[User:Woozle|Woozle]] 16:09, 20 August 2006 (EDT)
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===In Favor===
 
===In Favor===
 
* Erin Lindsay writes ([http://venusenvy.comicgenesis.com/ Venus Envy] news for 2006-07-27) (with some reformatting and emphasis):
 
* Erin Lindsay writes ([http://venusenvy.comicgenesis.com/ Venus Envy] news for 2006-07-27) (with some reformatting and emphasis):

Revision as of 20:09, 20 August 2006

Overview

Gay marriage (where "gay" refers to same-sex relationships of any gender; also called "same-sex marriage") is an issue because some people want to do it and some others find it distasteful and/or believe it to be immoral.

Reference

Related Articles

News

Opinion

Positions

Points

Against

  • "gay marriage" is a contradiction in terms
    • This is a definitional argument, and it often confuses the issue. My understanding is that what gay people want, when they say they want the right to "marry", is the right to the legal recognitions and protections that come with marriage. There is no inherent contradiction to gay people being given those rights and protections, so the speaker who sees a contradiction must be defining "marriage" in some other way. A possible compromise position would be to separate the two – tie the legal rights to a word other than "marriage", and apply that universally. --Woozle 08:28, 16 Feb 2006 (CST)
      • Some states (Vermont, California, and Connecticut) have tried this with "Civil Unions" and many proponents of gay marriage say that it is not enough, they want to redefine marriage. Personally, I believe that the governments should remove the term "marriage" from all government regulations and stipulate those rights for all persons as a "Civil Union," leaving marriages to the religious institutions. Midian 16:33, 28 July 2006 (EDT)
  • if we allow gay marriage, we allow anything and everything
    • This is essentially a slippery slope circular argument – that is, it argues that gay marriage is bad because if we allow it, we might then allow something worse ("something worse" implying that gay marriage is bad, which implies the conclusion in its premise).
      • Opinionated snarky editorial reply: If we redefine marriage to include gay couples, what's to stop us from gradually refining it until it serves everyone to the best possible extent? --Woozle 16:09, 20 August 2006 (EDT)

In Favor

  • Erin Lindsay writes (Venus Envy news for 2006-07-27) (with some reformatting and emphasis):
    • This morning, the Washington States Supreme Court handed down their decision that homosexuals didn't deserve the right to marry. Their basic reasoning, like most every opponent's, is that being gay is a choice, so it's not something you need special consideration for.
    • I'm not going to break off into a tirade about whether or not gay is in-born or learned, and whether its a choice or something you're just given without your consultation, but if it were up to these same sorts of people, being black would probably be considered a lifestyle choice, too.
    • The line that really stuck it to me was in mentioning that gays weren't being discriminated against, because they're free to marry people of the opposite sex any time they want. Dear lord, if ANYTHING would cause damage to straight marriage, it would be forcing gays to do it.
    • The primary justification for the judicial discrimination was that gay couples couldn't procreate (well... gay male couples, anyway; as near as I can tell, there's no such thing as lesbians), so in years to come, expect to see a lot of court decisions from Washington state outlawing marriage between the elderly, sterile couples, and heterosexuals who don't want children.
    • Luckily, thanks to extremely close-minded birth-certificate modification laws that prevent a transsexual from being re-assigned as her new gender, I can still legally marry the woman I love. I guess two wrongs can make a right.

Inquiries

  • What arguments can be leveled against gay marriage that cannot be leveled against interracial marriage? (see wikipedia:Loving v. Virginia; apparently, at the time of this decision, more people were against interracial marriage than are now against gay marriage – not that this proves anything, but it shows how opinion can change given a few decades)

Links