Why is this argument still going on?
The bible didn't 'used' to promote slavery, etc., it still does.
This statement is only half true. While slavery does occur in the Bible, one can easily make the point that the systems of debt we have today are really no better than a glorified form of slavery. The only way to have a system that completely avoids slavery would be communism and the last time I checked, communism doesn't work. The Bible does
NOT promote racism, which I'm pretty sure is what you are really referring to. When people think of slavery nowadays they think of African Americans in the 1800's, which is not even close to being the same thing.
This is the problem. Anyone who uses religious justification as an argument in a discussion about same sex rights (or any other issue) will inevitably drag the rest of the thread into a discussion about religion...
People should have the right to use their personal beliefs when stating a moral opinion. If he were speaking about in from a legal perspective, religion shouldn't have anything to do with the matter. Yes mentioning religion is going to pull the conversation in that direction, but it takes two to have an argument.
None.
Looking at gay marriage from a purely legal standpoint in the United States (the whole post)...
Marriage, in legal terms, is a contract. To be legally married, all you have to do is present an ID and sign on the dotted line. No formal religious ceremony is required for two people to be legally married.
Just as a state cannot discriminate against the
legal marriage of a white man and a black woman, a state should not be able to discriminate against same-sex marriages. Under the 14th's amendment, "No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the
privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."
A law prohibiting gay marriage denies the privilege of marriage to gay and lesbian couples.
if you'd like to repeal the fourteenth amendment because you think, "Well, that was written so that states wouldn't discriminate against African Americans after the Civil War," would you be comfortable knowing that your state (if the state constitution allowed it) could censor your speech, declare a state religion, revoke your firearms, deprive you of a trial by jury, imprison you without just cause, etc.?
tl;dr A ban on gay marriage should be declared unconstitutional. The Supreme Court hasn't done so most likely because of the hostile attitude of many Americans towards homosexuals.
Win by luck, lose by skill.

SDE, BWAPI owner, hacker.
Really, I don't see the big deal. If a gay couple wants to marry or something they can go ahead, it should be legal and work on paper. If they want to have a big ceremony with the priest and religious hocus pocus then I agree with any priest that refuses to do that, since it is the priest's decision, and being gay isn't really something to celebrate. Gay pride is a joke too. You should be proud of being straight, not being gay. Makes no sense.
The Supreme Court hasn't done so most likely because of the hostile attitude of many Americans towards homosexuals.
Actually I think the supreme court hasn't done so because no case has come before them in which they could make that decision one way or the other.
Gay pride is a joke too. You should be proud of being straight, not being gay. Makes no sense.
Eh? You should have pride in the fact that you identify with the already overwhelming heteronormative culture? Weird.
Ideally gay people shouldn't need to have pride in themselves because they would be fully accepted by society for who and what they are.
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You would be more accurate if you were comparing people who owned slaves to people who didn't own slaves the law being passed being the banning of slavery. Not comparing the slaves who would be set free to the slaveowners who are losing their slaves.
Replace "owned slaves" with "are gay". Replace "didn't own slaves" with "are straight". Replace "banning of slavery" with Banning of gay marriage.
I can't... I can't even... I don't know what to say...
This is probably the most bigoted thing posted on this site that hasn't been removed.
>homophobic

Homo = man/human being. Phobia = fear. Homophobia = fear of man.
Even if you say that the colloquial use is homosexual-fear, I know that most people accused of homophobia are not in any way afraid of homosexuals. Vrael is not homophobic, nor does he appear to be anti-homosexual. He's anti-flamboyant-homosexual. And me, I'm not anti-homosexual, I'm anti-homosexuality. Now, Westboro Baptist could be considered anti-homosexual, AND anti-homosexuality, AND homosexual-phobic.
The original root of the word is obviously around 'fear', but actual usage is not:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HomophobiaHomophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are sometimes covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the implication of antipathy, contempt, prejudice, and aversion.[1][2][3] The term "homophobia" is observable in critical and hostile behavior such as discrimination[1][2] and violence on the basis of a perceived homosexual or in some cases any non-heterosexual orientation. In a 1998 address, author, activist, and civil rights leader Coretta Scott King stated that "Homophobia is like racism and anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry in that it seeks to dehumanize a large group of people, to deny their humanity, their dignity and personhood."[4]
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homophobichttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/homophobiahttp://www.thefreedictionary.com/homophobic
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>be faceless void >mfw I have no face
Well, I still don't classify as homophobic according to any of the dictionary definitions. The wiki article sounds a lot more biased than the dictionary definitions, but I'd probably be classified as homophobic according to said wiki article.
Red classic.
"In short, their absurdities are so extreme that it is painful even to quote them."

Find Me On Discord (Brood War UMS Community & Staredit Network)
Homophobe should simply be defined as any person attempting (wishing for/advocating) to stop homosexuals being homosexual.

>be faceless void >mfw I have no face
Homophobe should simply be defined as any person attempting (wishing for/advocating) to stop homosexuals being homosexual.
But it isn't defined as that. "Ground" should be defined as a circular object coloured green.
Red classic.
"In short, their absurdities are so extreme that it is painful even to quote them."

Find Me On Discord (Brood War UMS Community & Staredit Network)
Yeh, that's why I said 'should'. And WTFBBQ was your second sentence??

>be faceless void >mfw I have no face
Yeh, that's why I said 'should'. And WTFBBQ was your second sentence??
I was showing how ridiculous it is to say what you think different words should mean.
Red classic.
"In short, their absurdities are so extreme that it is painful even to quote them."
It's pretty simple: sexist and racist encompass all negative attitudes surrounding sex and race. There is no "ist" word for referring to homosexuals, so homophobia is the word that is used to carry all these meanings. Sure, it's not logical when you look at the root of the word, but very little of english is.
None.

An artist's depiction of an Extended Unit Death
To quote a wise SEN member:
You're all arguing over miniscule details and fake fallacies, without showing its relevance to any point you want to make in the topic.
I don't see how discussing the exact meaning of the word "homophobia" is progressing the discussion on same-sex rights.
(On a side note, I thought homo more represented "singularity" or something in common, rather than "man," which is why we have words like homogenized and homologous.)
Jack tried to derail the thread by saying homophobia doesn't mean what we said it meant. He's wrong and I'm correcting the record.
Roy:
homo-
a combining form appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “same” ( homology ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words ( homomorphic ).
None.
what if we consider homosexuality from the perspective of
categorical imperative?
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What do you mean by that, K_A? Are you arguing that homosexuality does not derive from necessity?
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Half of this entire thread is people stupidly arguing about technicalities and all kinds of semantics.
I asked a question to develop discussion, and my post gets reported?
What do you mean by that, K_A? Are you arguing that homosexuality does not derive from necessity?
I'm saying that if everyone were gay, we wouldn't have very many people left on this planet right now.
Categorical Imperative implies that we shouldn't do things unless we approve of having everyone do what we are doing.
It's like the opposite of "If everyone does it, it must be ok."
None.
I guess everyone should be president of the united states, or no one should.
Also I'd point out that many gay men and women have children. If anything, if everyone were gay the world would be a much better place due to no overpopulation problem.
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That sort of all or nothing dealing does not prove anything, K_A.
If everyone were breeding, there would be a significant problem of overpopulation.
If certain minority groups didn't exist or did not try to fulfill their desires, there would be no market for the things they desire. Those that make their living off of said markets would be destitute. Make of that what you will.
The only thing all or nothing is really good for is nerve reactions.
As long as no harm is involved in or results from something, physical, psychological, financial or otherwise, noone should try to assault any group on any grounds.
In the case of Gay Rights, they should be granted all rights afforded straight people. They fill many niches and markets and provide a very large market (for lack of a better word) for adoption, as many gay couples wish to adopt children and given the state of things, said children would not gain a chance to get a couple. I know people who have been adopted and lived in an orphanage prior to that. They told me it was not good at all.
So why the hell not give them rights?
None.