homosexual rights in america

well, I was doing a research project in my sixth grade computer class, and I decided to research on homosexual rights. My specific topic was Gay Marriage.

I found out that there is a law, that was proposed in 1996 by Clinton, and it banned gay marriage. even though this law would not apply to me, I thought about the others that it effected. The law was passed, and now gay marriage is banned in many states.

(I'm doing this all off my memory, so please forgive me if I said something wrong)

from what I know, in a few of the states, gay marriage is not banned, but we're working on the rest. One of the main things is that this law VIOLATES THE CONSTITUTION. In the Constitution, it pretty much says that you can marry whoever you want [I don't think it says anything about just a man and a woman in union]. Now, the thing is, Bush is bringing on Catholic Lawmakers, to stop the "unbanning" of this all. I seriously don't think this would work, because not everyone in america is catholic!!!

I think Bush is catholic, I'm not sure, but anyway, The other HUGE issue, is that it offends a few religions. It is believed to be a SIN, and is a "horrible thing". Apparently you will go to hell if you do anything homosexually, not just marry, but y'know...

anyway, do you think this is really a sin? I mean, come on. People are still people. We not only should have the same rights, but we deserve those rights. One of those rights is to be happy. Not only to get married, but to be HAPPY.

and second, even if you don't think this is a sin, does it seem right?

 

Well from what the bible has said, they don't allow gay marriage. Now, I, don't like it as much as it makes me uncomfortable.

As for 'anything homosexual' if that means joking too, I think that's dumb because it's funny to do. And since this doesn't affect me personally, or anyone I know. Unfortuantly, and I'm being honest atleast so don't rant at me, but I honestly don't care. As long as I don't see any form of actually homosexuality i.e public kissing, holding hands, and such. Just because personally, to me, I don't like it. THO, I wish that it was that simple, but I know I'd be unfair because some homosexuals get offended when they see striaght people doing PDA so really to make it fair I think homos can do what they want and we can do what we want, but still theres the fact that both of us feel uncomfortable (if we are one of the ones that do).

The following information is coming from a Catholic so don't read if you get easily offended:
And as for God, as a catholic, I really don't want to question or think wrong about him, but if he loves us, why does he not accept gay people? It gets me so confused over the fact that all the time people say, God loves everyone. Which, really, he does, because he forgives everyone's 'sins' but I don't get how that is considered a sin. :/ Maybe if I read the bible I know. Or if you can tell me. D: Cause honestly, it makes me think like how is gay a sin? It doesn't kill anyone, hurt anyone, and if it's because they hurt us, don't we do the same?
:/ I don't know. I feel weird. Cause I'm a homophobe sometimes, I'll admit. Yet, I know that we're unfair sometimes... but whatever. Not that this matters to me. lul.

 

I see your point. I'm starting to think that there was an error in the bible.

Maybe god doesn't love us all? Why would he create a book of rules, say he loves us all, then say, "If you break these, I will hate you!" or something like that? What's the point of that?

Apparently it was a sin for breaking the so called "rules."

It doesn't make any sense anyway.... people most likely would be a bit embarrassed by their being homosexual. most likely, PDA is not going to happen with them. yet you see all these other people on the street, holding hands, and it offends NOBODY!!!!

god should like us for who we are. not what we do >>

 

My gr. 8 teacher got all a spasm attack once when many of the students in our class said that they didn't like gay people.

So in retaliation, she brought the bible.
She found almost every sin and read it out to us.

None of the sins had anything to do with homosexualism.

Look, I could care less about who people hung out with and who people dated/kissed/had intercourse/etc. I'm muslim and its pretty much shunned from my religion, but seriously, I could care less.

I hate the fact that people make it so hateful.

Does it really matter to have Adam and Eve? The worlds overpopulated already.

Jeez.

God loves us all, don't think its anything to do with God.
Its ignorant people in our society you should be blaming

 

which bible do you have...?

because, apparently, in the bible bush and a bunch of other people read, theres something about it in there!! otherwise they would have no reason to rage.

 

Bush is a dumbass.

I thought people knew that.

Anyway, I don't know what Bible. I told you my teacher brought it.

 

Well, PDA is shown all the time, by gays and straights, and really, you can't tell people are offended or not, unless their dumb enough to bluntly show it, which me and some of my family have done at times. Some gays like a member here I won't say names but he's gone forever anyway. xD Uh oh he claimed to be offended by striaght PDA.

 

yeah, I knew bush was a dumbass from the start =/


In my opinion people should have known that bush was going to screw our country.

 

I do believe it says in there "man shall not lie with man" or something like that. I could be very mistaken--it's been very long since I've picked up copy.

In any case, America is lagging behind on homosexual rights (figures, we lag behind on civil rights all the time really...). Many other countries, like Canada and the United Kingdom, all have no laws against same-sex marriages. I don't know the cause (I can speculate and get into a long diatribe about religion and ignorance and prejudice but I won't), but those are facts.

In my opinion (I'm agnostic, but I sure as hell don't believe in a Christian god), it's wrong, much like the reason stated at the very outset of this thread. Yes, the Constitution says that everyone has the same right. It's written there, in black and white, and again and again we seek to specify and exclude from that clause. We have a history of prejudice and there's still deeply rooted prejudices today, against women and people of different nationalities and now homosexuals.

I'm a firm beliver, however, that as this generation grows up (the one in the technology-era and the following), they're growing up to be a more accepting, much more tolerant bunch. You're still going to have prejucide, you can't erase that (this isn't paradise sadly). But I do firmly believe that this generation will grow up to be much more tolerant than the one that controls the government now. It's my hope that this more accepting generation will realize the basic rights of all human beings in this country and recognize their rights (people of color, women, homosexuals) are the same as every other person.

Freedom means to have equality. We don't have that right now.

 

i dont' see why it's such an issue that they tried banning it. it's just another form of discrimination, no better than racial or sexist discrimination. besides, i heard that ALOT of ppl are homosexual but are too embarassed to admit to it (for obvious reasons like gay jokes and discrimination etc.). i read in an online article one time that 30% of Americans think they are homosexual which doesn't sound like alot but that would be at least a million ppl in America alone. besides, i also read that even most straight people go through one homosexual fantasy/crush on someone of the same sex in their life. it's not as big of an issue as they're making it, it really isn't. religion dictates too many things already i dont' think it should control this as well. i have a beef with religion but that's a different story.

 

I believe there should be rights for gays in the USA. I mean there is nothing in the bible that says being gay is bad. But you have people like Rick Semtorm(sp), a senitor(sp) from Pensilvan(sp), who says things that he should think and shut his damn mouth. You don't say outloud, "Homosexuals are a threat to the American family." thats pregadist(sp) on a level that is shocking at this point in time.

 

My mother's second cousin was gay...... She said he was like a totally different person.... He
never told jokes anymore and his whole personality changed..... In the christian bible
it says that gays are controlled by demons when they give in..... SPOOKY! (Twilight Zone theme comes on!)

 

The Bible also says that it is a sin to wear clothes made with more than one type of material. There goes most of your clothes.

Just because the Bible says something doesn't make it true, far from it.

Also the UK does not allow gay marriage as such, it allows civil partnerships which give most (if not all) of the rights of a straight married couple to a gay couple, but it isn't the same thing.

A politician here in Northern Ireland (the son of the First Minister) said that homosexuals were poisoning society (along with gypsies). Many people now hate him for it.
If there politicians in America with similar homophobic views I would hope that they are not elected. That kind of sentiment should not be in any way encouraged or supported.

Funnily enough, all of the gay people I know are intelligent, well-dressed, informed, sophisticated and polite. How many homophobes can claim to be all of those things?

 

There is nothing in the bible that says gays are evil, thats something that ignorant Chistians say. My dad has read the WHOLE bible, I asked him if it says in the bible that gays are evil and he said that there is nothing like that in the bible. So if someone says that gays are evil and its in the bible, then you are the evil one.

 

I'm gay or they are...?

 

The monotheistic religions are all not tolerant of gays well at all. Gays have been stoned to death, drawn and quartered etc and well, just outright murdered because of spots in the bible that do condemn gays and also because the people are bigoted and disgusted by gays

There are more references to gays and any sexual deviation from Christianity views being destroyed. Let's not forget Sodom and Gomorrah which were towns both utterly destroyed for having gay 'deviant' behavior. These people that looked for any references to gays being something bad in the Bible did not look hard enough. I could waste more time if you want more quotes. It's not to call these teachers or parents liars, but the quotes are in there amidst a lot of other things.

Despite this, however, there are gays who fight to be Christian because in this day and age, no one is supposed to go out and kill gays outright for their 'sin' and Christians have taken lesser measures to dealing with something that is against the belief. The Bible is wrought full of many reasons to murder and kill but if people did such now, it would really be something that would be likely to fuel a war. All three monotheistic faiths and the new ones added in such as Jehovah Witnesses and Mormons all still reference to Homosexuality is a sin. Though now, it is tolerated more because everyone in some way sins to Christians, it is debatable that it is ok. Serious fundamentals though still despise it and condemn teenagers etc. Gays have committed suicide due to parents saying they cannot accept the child's behavior and it is abhorrent.

I think people who are gay should be able to get married and have the rights of opposite sex marriages. The reasons to me are not religious, but instead logical. When two gay people live together and cannot get married, if something happens to the partner such as death, injury etc, the other person has trouble being able to get rights to benefits for him/herself or to aiding the other person. Sometimes partners have been denied the rights to hospital visits because they aren't considered 'immediate family'. Also, they cannot gain access to pay for bills while the partner is away. They may be forced to buy a home off the market rather than it being passed to them as would happen in a marriage without a Will. If something happens where one has a child, the other may have trouble getting that child to school or may even have the child taken from the partner while the other is away in the hospital because he/she is not considered 'family'. There are other things as well but those stick out as reasons to me that are important as these sorts of court cases and complaints always pop up. There is a definite difference in law to 'married' people and to just those shacking up together and it is a terrible inconvenience.

Back to the Bible again though. There are things in it that contest to people being gay considering it immoral but at the same time, there are many Christians out there who have learned to not be caring so much what others do in their bedrooms. The views have changed dramatically, but gay marriage is something that is going to need to be fought within each state. There are now a few states out there that fight for gay marriages but many try to say that 'Civil Unions' have enough power to grant gays what they want. The point people have of bringing up the Bible though is getting redundant in a way because the Bible, as said in many topics, is up for interpretation and people take what they will from it. It's only the real fundamental folks that will keep on hating and pointing out the quotes to use against it. (Or people like me that read the thing page for page 20 some times and use it to show it exists but it shouldn't be an excuse).

I am not gay but see the reasons why people who are deserve the same rights as others. If irresponsible people can get married who are straight and not ready for such commitment, then I do not see why gays should not. Marriage is taken so lightly these days any way. It aids people in their lives at home while they are together and for many it's an aids of bettering at home circumstances more than it is a 'religious' thing. It means the two people are devoted to one another and should have access to each other's things, well being and being fully able to be there for the big decisions that matter. For those that want it for the religious experience and all, that's fine, but it should be up to each couple how they endear it. The at home improvements for people married just is something that cannot be denied forever. No one would bother getting married if it wasn't a way to say 'we are together and one now and my home is your home, our children are ours, our medical lives are our business, our personal lives are our business, and we aren't out cheating on one another, and we have stability to be Happy.' There's commitment to marriage. That's all it needs to mean: Commitment and the Rights that go with it.

 

I just don't like the kind that show it off in public..... As long as they don't mess with me,
I don't care...... Yet, in the Bible it does call homosexuality the hated sin..... Thats why
most homophobes think God hates ****...... God hates all sin.... He doesn't hate any
sinners..... Love the sinner, hate the sin..... They are unfortunate.....

 

Really though, there are rules against -anyone- showing off in public too much. Indecent exposure and too much in the form of Displays of Affection' are meant to cover anyone. Whether gay or straight, people should have some restraint in their public exhibitions and note that everyone doesn't need to know they are chewing on one another's tonsils all day long or groping one another etc. I don't really mind the kissing or hugging, but I think if people are going too far, there's a home for a reason. We who are straight though do need to get used to the ideas of two people of the same sex holding hands, hugging or kissing though. Whatever is legal for straights to show should be legal for gays so just work at desensitizing to it some and you'd be fine. It does take some effort but I've gotten used to it. The only times anymore things get to me is when you are trying to talk to someone and the other person is all over them and well, that gets annoying no matter who's promoting it. =:/ Some people like to show off in public more than others.

 

agreed. not only gays need to keep it out, but so do straights. not even I show PDA that much. but it's not really the point that they show some sorts of PDA in public. I mean, people will eventually have to deal with it. but it's the fact that we have haters in this country and others. I mean, come on people, someone told me that one gay couple had someone attempt to burn their house down. wtf is with that? It's the way they choose, it's the way they want to be. my tech teacher called me a "hippie" because they'd probably like me back in the 60's.

now, back to the PDA issue. It will make us uncomfortable. Well, think about their side of the story. when they see us showing displays of affection in public, don't you think some of them are a bit offended? apparently, this is how society has learned....

In my school, TMS, we have a policy about it. we can't show it period. if you do, you get a bip (behavioral improvment plan). I think that in public, if you go way too far, you should get a ticket, or fine of some kind. but if we proposed that, the city would go wayy too far, so would the state, the country, the world, and soon, we'd probably all fall apart, because of people and and their big mouths. If you really have a problem with it, keep it in your head damnit. there's nothing you can really do about it. It's not going to make them stop if you start yelling at them. and I don't think you should really try at burning their house down >>; further conciquences(sp), outrage, ranting, and so on will go down. we might as well bring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. back to life and say "fix us."

 

Agreeing with the two posters above me... it's not equality if straight persons have the right to practice PDA excessively and homosexual persons are not. It's something we will have to get used to though, I'm sure.