Sexual orientation/preference has absolutely zero to do with values and morality, anyway. Being homosexual has no effect whatsoever on how good a person you are. What consenting adults do in private, whom they choose to be with, or whether their parts fit together perfectly or need a bit of help, is no concern of anybody else’s–and I’d certainly question the mentality of all those who are seemingly obsessed with what other people like to do behind closed doors.

The ability to have a loving, committed gay relationship between consenting adults recognized by the law, and hopefully by whichever relevant religious or other establishments to which the partners might belong, is not so very much to ask. The precious heterosexual marriage institution (which, let’s face it, hasn’t the most stellar of track records anyway) is not TOUCHED or altered in ANY way, shape, or form by this. Expanding a definition does not have to involve changing the original content. “If you don’t like gay marriage, don’t get one.” Doesn’t get any simpler. There are plenty of things I don’t want, and would actually prefer that other people did not get either–but that doesn’t mean I can violate their rights to liberty and happiness by trying to tell them they can’t have those things. Ultimately, someone else’s business is someone else’s business.

Indeed, distraction from ACTUAL issues that matter by creating problems and debates where they needn’t exist is the only explanation that holds water for something such as the anti-gay marriage “case.” I can argue in the most ridiculous circles with my family members over the topic, because there ARE no truly valid points on that side–it’s all feeling-based and senseless, absurd, unreasonable. Obviously, it can be difficult for mere mortals to accept something that just “doesn’t sit right” in one’s own head because it’s too different from what you consider “normal,” even though it harms no one and nothing and ultimately makes no real difference to YOU–standing pigheadedly in the way only hurts the people who want gay marriage. It does nothing to benefit the opposing side. Why this is even a big deal at all is utterly bizarre and baffling.

Ultimately, all it boils down to are religious beliefs. BELIEFS. Not even facts. No one can provide a shred of evidence that God condemned homosexuality, or inspired the folks who wrote the Bible (a book with MANY translations and interpretations), or even exists at all. Of course it is all possible, but it’s also possible that a tiny flock of invisible, flying, rainbow-colored zebras live under my bed. (I’m not implying that there’s the same degree of probability involved in both scenarios, but hopefully you see the point.) All the passionate rhetoric in the world doesn’t make a claim true. HOW can one EVER consider using unproven, unsupported ideas to object to the allowance of something that will provide equal opportunities and happiness for millions…?? Agnostics and atheists are perfectly capable of arriving at the same basic moral principles needed for rich, fulfilling lives in thriving civilizations. Everyone who doesn’t subscribe to everything your faith says is not WRONG or misguided.

I suppose that if the Church wants to be that way, then they have the right not to recognize things they don’t believe in…they’re founded on beliefs and faith, anyhow. Gay couples should most definitely be able to turn SOMEwhere to become legitimately united in the same sense that heterosexual ones can, if they so wish–with all of the benefits that accompany the ceremony.
But trying to convey the message that homosexuals are “bad people” for acting upon their supposedly God-given feelings and pleasing themselves to no one else’s detriment, embracing who they are…that’s nothing short of sickening. Frankly, why a loving God would disapprove so strongly of homosexual behavior in the first place has never been sufficiently explained, and there’s no compelling reason to believe in an arbitrary, tyrannical god. Murder, theft, infidelity, bearing false witness, rape…some things I could understand being generally bad and undesirable. They have to do with the quality of one’s character, and they can do great harm to oneself and others. Being gay does not fit that description at all.

The ludicrous, fear-mongering notion that society will degrade and all traditional social constructs will crumble if homosexuals are permitted to wed cracks me up like no other. How sad. A faith supposedly built upon the tenet of love for all people, heartlessly rejecting and ignoring the love of so many simply because the pair members happen to belong to the same biological sex. Isn’t love supposed to be a spiritual, magical sort of emotion, capable of transcending something as simple and physical as sex? This makes no sense and seems blatantly hypocritical. The welfare of a society is HARDLY dependent upon 100% of the people being heterosexual, marrying, and reproducing. In fact, that path is undesirable and leadeth to even more severe overpopulation (which is a HUUUGE problem, so why in the world is anyone focusing on gay marriage of all things?!?) There will almost certainly always be more heterosexuals than homosexuals; that does not make it right to deprive them of things they deserve via rules rooted in mere personal beliefs. Society used to justify the “moral rightness” of discrimination, subjugation, and persecution based upon other factors (such as race…) as well.

Every gay couple who wishes to adopt is a blessing of sorts. Any child ought to be presented with facts and allowed to make up his or her own mind. Attempts to brainwash me into believing that homosexuality is disgusting or wrong failed. There is no reason to suspect that kids will become “confused” in the future when presented with the idea that a gay relationship can be just as beautiful and caring as a straight one. They’d be unlikely to develop much differently, either; a positive effect could even be an increased likelihood to discuss and explore such matters as sexuality and personal identity more openly, truthfully, and with less shame and fear than is and has been common. Bottom line is, being around gay people doesn’t turn a you gay any more than being around tall people makes you tall.

So I just can’t stand the religious justifications for this nonsense. Judging simply from the rude, un-Christ-like behavior that can be observed in church parking lots on Sunday mornings, by people who were inside minutes ago singing the praises of their Lord and promising to more closely emulate his goodness in the world, it’s OBVIOUS that religion–or the profession of religion–has effectively VERY little to do with a person’s actual moral values and practices. The legalization of gay marriage is sooo not going to flush the world any further down the toilet than it already is, okay?

My Wife and I were happy to support traditional marriage at a rally in Albany this weekend. We hope that you continue to be a voice in support of traditional marriage as we pray this law is overturned.

God Bless
Tom and Annemarie Thimons

http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/top_stories/551094/hundreds-rally-to-repeal-same-sex-marriage/

All my family and relatives married and divorced a few times, us partners for happy 25 years show THIS is marriage, we only need the paperwork for legalities.

Straight sex marriages are awesome I go to them and cry, but later I hear divorce and it sounds normal.

Yes you will have gay kids, choose to love us. Our parents did.
Hate the Church love the church goers.

The problem with your question, is that the same gene that provides a benefit can also have an unintended consequence. For example, it’s already been demonstrated that women who have a specific gene that makes it easy for them to get pregnant and reproduce also tend to have more homosexual children. This is counter-intuitive, I know, because when I program a computer, I program one “object” to do one thing, but in our DNA, one “object” can do multiple things.

“We pursued our functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of the neural correlates of romantic love in 24 subjects, half of whom were female (6 heterosexual and 6 homosexual) and half male (6 heterosexual and 6 homosexual). We compared the pattern of activity produced in their brains when they viewed the faces of their loved partners with that produced when they viewed the faces of friends of the same sex to whom they were romantically indifferent. The pattern of activation and de-activation was very similar in the brains of males and females, and HETEROSEXUALS AND HOMOSEXUALS. We could therefore detect NO DIFFERENCE in activation patterns between these groups.”

PLoS One. 2010 Dec 31;5(12):e15802.
“The brain reaction to viewing faces of opposite- and same-sex romantic partners.”

In simplest terms, this means that the brains of homosexual men and women experience love for their partners in the same physiological way that the brains of heterosexual men and women experience love for their partners.

The full article, listed by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health, is available for the public at: http://dx.plos.org/ambra-doi-resolver/10.1371/journal.pone.0015802.

No spin. No bias. No stealing language. No lies. No distortion of numbers. Just fact.

This is what EVERYONE’S brain looks like (literally…there are pictures) when in love. We are fundamentally the same in how we LOVE (not lust) – gay or straight. If that’s true…then where does AndyP’s argument stand?

The question of extinction is excellent! (and actually a strong argument for homosexual behavior as normal) Traits that are disadvantageous will go extinct from populations over time, while advantageous traits survive.

Please, Adam, give an example of an advantageous trait of homosexuality.

http://www.catholic.org/national/national_story.php?id=41956&page=1

http://www.dioceseofprovidence.org/index.php?id=14&uudis=229

In addition, Deacon Keith Fournier includes in his article a directive entitled “Considerations regarding Proposals to Give Legal recognition To Unions Between Homosexual persons” published June 3, 2003 by the then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI)

http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20030731_homosexual-unions_en.html

In these uncertain times where relativism has hypnotized the masses, Catholics must unite around the Truth. More importantly, we must live the truth with our lives. The older I get as a Catholic the more I see fragmented messages from our clergy and the faithful here in America. To me its simple, the Pope says it, therefore you do it! Here is a piece of reality: I work in Corporate America, if I do not do what my boss tells me, it’s very simple – I am fired!

A central problem, for the last 3 decades in our country among the Catholic faithful is a lack of catechetical knowledge. Its time for the bishops to acknowledge that failure and start putting an infrastructure in place to correct this reality because it is just that – a reality. What makes the problem exponentially worse is, many Catholic truths and teachings are not being proclaimed from the pulpits in our American churches, basilicas and cathedrals. If our priests do not say it, the faithful will not live it! Catholic schools that profess the name “Catholic” simply are not teaching the fullness and beauty of what the Church proclaims. The fruit of what I am saying is exhibited in our daily newspapers. Lay Catholics and Catholic Politicians consistently are supporting and passing legislation in favor of same sex unions, abortion, etc, etc. These same folks, many of them very sincere, feel they can still maintain a Catholic identity while participating (directly or indirectly) in these intrinsically evil behaviors.

The time is now for our American Bishops, Priests, and Deacons to unite with one voice around rock solid doctrine. The time is now for fearless preaching. The time is now for authentic Catholic witness.

Jesus Christ preached his message to 12 uneducated men with one voice, its time for our church leaders to do the same with equal vigor and love

Be not Afraid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Today more than ever, our nation is in need of Catholics who know their faith deeply and express their faith, with integrity, by their daily living.” – Raymond Cardinal Burke