Many people of this forum seem to be opposed to gay marriage. I am on the other side of the debate. I have read some very cogent arguments from your side. What I haven't seen much of is your side addressing our points one by one. I don't mean to offend anyone by posting this. I respect your opionion. I just want debate.
1. The Constitution is sacred. It should be used to extend rights, not take them away. The only time in history the Constitution was amended to restrict rights is prohibition. Restricting rights via the Constitution is contrary to what it stands for. How do you justify using the sacred Constitution for something like this?
2. I have heard the expression "activist judges" a lot during this debate. The Constitution gave the power of judicial review to them. One of the purposes of judicial review is to prevent tyranny of the majority and protect the rights of minority. Decades ago, during the interracial marriage debate, people angrily used the expression "activist judges, legislating from the bench." They also used the same expression for desegregation in the South. How is this different? Do you think it's right to take away power from a branch of the government given to it by the Constitution?
3. There are over 1,000 benefits opposite-sex couples have because of marriage. If a same sex couple is together 30 or 40 years and one of them dies, the other gets no Social Security benefits, even though they have both been paying into the system. How is this fair? If a man falls in love with a foreign woman, they can marry and prevent her from being deported. If a man falls in love with a foreign man, it doesn't matter. He can be deported. I can't imagine how heart-wrenching that would be. How do you justify this kind of discrimination?
4. 25 years from now (I will be in my early fifties if God allows me to live that long), there will be full gay marriage. I believe that. Similar to the arguments people used against interracial marriage years ago, today's arguments against gay marriage will seem silly. How do you feel knowing that your position is going to be looked on like that 25 years from now?
5. Gay marriage is of no threat to hetereosexual marriage. Look at The Netherlands, Belgium, and Canada. Straight people are still getting married at the same rate. The divorce rate has not gone up. The same number of children are being born. They are still there. Their societies have not collapsed. Based on these examples, how do you still argue that it would hurt our society?
God bless you all
Justin
"This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."
Psalm 118:24