I am not talking about the religious ceremony of marriage, I am talking about the legal contract of marriage as set forth in US Law. It guarantees 1049 specific rights and priviledges to legally married people that are denied to all others. To bar one group of consenting adults from entering into a legal contract is an abrogation of the Constitutional gurarantee of equal protection. The only reason that gay people are singled out is that Christianity teaches that gays are evil. Murderers, drug dealers, child molesters, politicians, and every other kind of scumbag can marry the person they love and receive full legal rights and priviledges--but not gay people.

Abortion is another issue and is beyond the scope of this discussion.

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The apocalypse is coming... we're gonna need more ammo.

Did you read the latest posts on the questions for conservatives? I would be interested in trieing to figure that question out too, the society turning into individuals, its keeping me up at night, literally.

Sorry Todd, the Founding Fathers were NOT Christian, most of them were Deists and they specifically said that they were not founding the country on religious principles.

Why would you think the Bible is true? Do you have ANYTHING to demonstrate its validity? It sort of seems to me that if you are willing to agree with the government discriminating against one group of people on the basis of a religious text, then you should be required to demonstate the veracity of that text.

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The apocalypse is coming... we're gonna need more ammo.

the real issue here about gay marriage is the homo rights attempt to normalise homosexual relations. In other words, once gay marriage is passed people will be calling other people homophobes for being disgusted at the sight of 2 gay men kissing in public, or for leaving movie theaters when gay sex scenes are shown.. I think that is next, we, meaning ordinary people will be insulted and accused of homophobia for not finding homosexual acts beautifull or something.

Oh brother The fear of the fear of the fear......

do you think that will happen samantha? or is it over when gay marriage is passed?

It is a State issue that should be decided by the voters State by State. If your wondering, I would vote against allowing such a thing.

I was just applying the logic you used in recognizing the statement "Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

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Honor role student at the Limbaugh Institute for advanced Conservative studies.

That statement is not entirely correct, 2 out of the 56 signers of the Declaration Of Independence were Deist, the rest were Christian, I have the link if you'd like to see it.

Because it is.

Yes, but it's probably nothing you would accept.

I have not encouraged any type of discrimination. I have said nothing against gays being together. It does destroy family values if gays are allowed to marry, however, I'm not so sure why anyone would want to allow it.

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Honor role student at the Limbaugh Institute for advanced Conservative studies.

If we did it across the board, that would knock Kinetic's post count down to around nine...

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Obama's New "57 State Patriotic Pin":




Sayeth John Drake - 10/13/08: "OK, you're right, I admit to LYING"

Well, I can see that this thread has been diverted a little from the original topic, but I'll go ahead and state who I am.

I'm a 30 year old White Male living just outside Los Angeles California. I enlisted in the Army when I was 17 and served 6 years, following that enlistment I did about a semester of college before getting bored, selling everything and moving to South America (Brazil and Ecuador). I basically just backpacked around and worked a little bit teaching basic English (and met my wife). Following Sept 11th I returned to the US and did another 3 year stint in the Army but was never deployed to the Middle East.

Following the Army I worked for a little bit as a Private Investigator before joining the LAPD where I currently work.

Politically I'm very conservative, I'd say my views are basically consistent with Republican/Libertarian positions. I am big on personal responsibility, oppose government intervention in economics and am very supportive of a strong national defense.

I also enjoy other cultures, I speak Spanish and used to speak Portuguese (but have forgotten most of it). I love to read everything I can get my hands on and am something of a News addict.

I spent a little bit of time in Quito.

Crappy beer down there. Do you remember the beer with the chicken on the label?

Takes balls to do that. I should drive up to L.A. and buy you a beer...

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Obama's New "57 State Patriotic Pin":




Sayeth John Drake - 10/13/08: "OK, you're right, I admit to LYING"

Doesn't ring a bell, the only beers I remember are Pilsener, Club and Biela I don't remember if any of them had a chicken on the label though

Hahaha well you know what they say, free beer is the best beer.

Well, obviously you've never had "chicken" beer! Believe me, I'll gladly pay for my own beer forever if it means I never have to drink another bottle of that swill...

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Obama's New "57 State Patriotic Pin":




Sayeth John Drake - 10/13/08: "OK, you're right, I admit to LYING"

I'm a 36 year old woman. I've been with my partner 9 years. I'm a down-home, Southern, country, queer redneck.
I love animals, especially baby ones. I love building stuff like sheds, especially if I can do it cheap with scrounged wood and nails.
I love crosswords and other puzzles. I read just about everything. I have a good collection of Civil War books. (Technically, 1860's conflict wasn't a civil war, it was a failed separatist movement.)
I like bluegrass and country music and Dixie Outfitters.
I'm a pretty stereotypical moderately butch lesbian who has a buzzcut and wears flannel, but I lack the mechanical skills.
I love my old truck and my animals and my partner.
I am a Christian but I don't go to church a lot. I enjoy it when I do. I grew up Baptist and still love all those old hymns like "I'll Fly Away" or "When the Roll is Called Up Yonder" I believe religion is a mostly private affair. But I do think people should act on their faith by helping the poor and "the least of these."
Politically I'm a centrist, a libertarian. Government seems to mess up most stuff than it fixes. I am in favor of a national sales tax rather than what we've got now. I think drugs,guns and abortion should all be legal and free of any government rules.
About gay marriage: I think gays should have a civil union where they go to the courthouse and get the same stuff a straight couple would get. No messy religious argument needed.Churches don't ever have to marry anybody they don't want. Take religion out of the equation.

I am 23 yrs. old and a college student. I say let States decide Gay Marriage, Abortion, Marijuana legalization/criminalization, Minimum wages (or a lack of one), gun control (or lack of) and other issues that people foolishly feel the Federal Government ought to stick its nose in.

I believe in being the change you want to see in others, so I don't put it on myself to 'change' people into being ways that I believe are better for society. The only real change is societal self-change. A country of liberty can not expect a government to poke and prod people into change via bans on 'bad things'. I live the change I hope to see and hope that others will see the good sense, if they agree. I believe in a saying that "no person is free who is not master of himself."

To see my opinion of where our country is headed (if all stays constant), go read the book Brave New World/BNW Revisited. It's still not exactly how I feel, but as close as anybody else has come to putting my thoughts on paper. If I had to actually do that here, it would take up much more space than I'm willing to do right now. Maybe I will later. : )

My political philosophy could be categorized (depending on which issue) as Libertarian or Classical Liberal, as some argue it's almost the same thing. Do whatever you like so long as it does not infringe on my life or rights. I also believe in education to go with that freedom and that educated people tend to make the right choices. I don't believe, as another poster implicity stated, that promoting individualism is detrimental to group mentality. In fact, I believe that individual thought and growth can strengthen groups (that is if all in the group maintain open minds) more than people who have not had their individuality promoted.

scarywoody is right. America's lust for material wealth and low prices is going to have us hung by our own rope if all stays constant. I'm with MattLarson on religion and personal responsibility all the way.