Jimspeak

Ok, this topic has come to the forefront of newspapers, blogs, nightly news reports, etc. It is rumored/threatened that it will becoming the deciding issue in next year's presidential elections. I have been debating this issue back and forth in my head and with select friends. I blogged about it days ago, and here I am back at it again. Maybe this contribution will be longer and more coherent. Here's what I am thinking:

Legalize gay marriages. My reasons for supporting this have varied. I do not find gay sex agreeable. I do not know if being gay is genetic or simply deviant sexual behavior. I do believe that prohibiting a gay union restricts the rights of a gay man or woman and is discrimination, plain and simple.

For me, this issue is becoming more about equality than the moral/religious aspect. My rants started to extol the superiority of a gay union over an un-happy hetero- union. Well, a happy hetero- union is also better than an unhappy one. This argument had to be put to rest. After all, who's to say a gay couple can't be as unhappy and 'dysfunctional' as a hetero- couple?

I moved on to what I feel is a better argument. There was (and in some peoples' minds, still is) a time when blacks were seen as non-human, that denying them rights was normal and acceptable. Same with women. We have come to see this as arrogant and incorrect. Why do we not afford gay people the same respect? It seems to me that everyone wants respect and equality for all-as long as the all does not include those that they feel 'don't belong'. I think this is wrong. I think those who are so terrified of gay couples should get to know some gay people. Eliminate the ignorance, and the hatred may follow.