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Originally Posted by Ilow
Not to threadjack too much, but are there a few people on this board who live in one of the 11 states who voted for the gay marriage ban, and voted for it who could explain WHY they did in a way that doesn't sound like bigotry, denial of rights, or purely religiously based dogma? It probably sounds like "trolling" but since I live in a "blue" state and support civil rights I am completely at a loss.
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I am in a "blue" state where a gay marriage ban was passed. It is impossible to defend any law that isn't a "denial of rights" as that is pretty much the definition of a law. But as for the other two, I don't see gays as a minority. They are people who choose to take certain actions, no different than someone who chooses to go bikeriding, play basketball, watches foreign movies, or any other legal act (and I did agree with the supreme court's decision to strike down sodomy laws). Nobody has ever said why gay sex deserves some special status not allowed any other act. As for the amendment myself, I see modern marriage laws as a way for the gov't to support the creation of families, as people having some security for having and raising children is considered good public policy (and as someone studying law currently, there are many different legal decisions that are based on what is considered good for public policy). Being that that is the case, IMO, gay couples cannot have children and therefore should not have the same abilities as couples able to have children. That being said, I only think it should be restricted in terms of tax benefits and what benefits businesses must give. As for inheritance and hospital visitation, those things can be covered with personal contracts, and don't require some special status given to people by the gov't, just a lawyer to file documents. I know some states did vote to ban even those things, but I would rather do that than allow the alternate. Plus, I think those laws that restrict property transfer and hospital visitation will not hold up upon challenge (which will probably lead to new amendments in the respective states being passed). And they are no more "hate laws" than Roe v. Wade was legalized child murder.
And as for 48% not liking the current administration, unfortunately (or fortunately) we opperate in a winner-take-all government. What that means is that your 48% is worth around 0% in government elections. And I do think that the majority Bush got is substantial, due more to the fact that there was a very unpopular war going on, and the massive anti-Bush sentiment in the popular media. Observing the coverage given by most mainstream media, you would have expected Bush to get around 30%, not the majority he actually gained. So the delusional minority isn't so rediculous. Also, seeing how many people have overreacted after the election, it makes them seem even more out of touch.