I'm not pushing for such a law. I don't think it should be necessary, no more than a law to permit people of different races to inter-marry was necessary. The Supreme Court simply ruled that laws <I>against</I> such marriages were unconstitutional. I'm hoping to see that precedent followed.
Can you explain why your having to "accept" same-sex marriage (as a legal relationship, <I>not</I> as being valid within your religion) is any different from people (many of them Christians) being forced to "accept" mixed-race marriage, back then? Can you explain how that unwilling "acceptance" would be as much of a violation of your rights as the present situation is of mine?
<I>Other people are going to be allowed to do something you don't think they should do.</I>
How does that affect your rights? How does that affect <I>you</I> at all?
Do proponents of same-sex marriage want <I>you</I> to "ignore" your beliefs? No. <I>We</I> want to ignore your beliefs, to live our own lives according to our own. We're not trying to take anything away from you. We want the same thing you have -- the right to marry who we wish to marry. No, we don't want you to have any say in "who" -- but why <I>should</I> you have a say in <I>our</I> marriages?
There <I>is</I> a right to marriage... well, for most people there is. There's a right to religious beliefs, for everyone. But there's <I>no</I> right to stop people from doing things that go against your religious beliefs... which seems to be what you want.
And I think I've already demonstrated that I will support other people's rights, when they're valid -- even if they go against my own beliefs. As I recall, you were shocked. But that's how it's supposed to work around here. We let people believe things and say things and do things that we personally think they shouldn't -- as long as they don't hurt anyone. <I>And they return the favor.</I>
What else is freedom <I>about?</I>
I know you don't think I should marry a woman. I respect your right to hold that belief, to express it, to argue it. I won't even ask you to justify it. But if you're going to infringe on my freedom -- if you're going to say, not that I <I>shouldn't</I>, but that I <I>shouldn't be allowed to,</I> then yes, I'll ask, and keep asking, until I hear something that makes sense. You can vote however you choose, for whatever reasons... but if you're voting to take away my right to marriage, then I want to know: <I>How do you justify that?</I>
"I don't think you should" isn't enough. If I said it to you, it wouldn't be enough. I don't think you <I>should</I> vote against my civil rights... but you <I>should be able to.</I> Voting is a fundamental right. (Although one neither of <I>us</I> would have had, less than a century ago.) Marriage may be somewhat less fundamental, but it also has less effect on <I>you</I>. And so I ask, again and again... <I>why?</I>