North Carolina passes same-sex marriage ban

[Makarov]

Voted. In my view, the comparison between the number of votes for options 3 and 4 will be the most telling.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by MoneyGuy

I didn't say that. I'm telling you there are lots more people here who disagree with gay marriage but don't want to be branded bigots and have to defend their views.

I agree with what you are saying.

Not that I fall into this category for this topic, but there are certainly threads on this forum that I don't participate in because I know my thoughts on the matter won't be welcomed.

[FlamingLonghorn]

I picked the first one because it best fit me. When I was in middle school I was probably against gay marriage 20 years ago, but since I've been an adult I have been consistently in favor of it.

[MarchHare]

Based on early voting results (89% saying they were always in favour of gay marriage as of this writing), we either have many new members who weren't posting here 6-7 years ago when those of us on the "pro" side were very much in the minority, or some of you are lying about your unwavering support.

[Senator Clay Davis]

My view on this is the same as any civil rights or freedom issue: Equality for all. I'd like to think in 2012 most people would agree everyone should be equal and have equal rights for all. You may not agree with an issue for personal/relgious/whatever else reasons, but that doesn't mean you should prevent others from enjoying the rights and freedoms we all deserve.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Rathji

I agree with what you are saying.

Not that I fall into this category for this topic, but there are certainly threads on this forum that I don't participate in because I know my thoughts on the matter won't be welcomed.

I don't get that. I love CP because it gives you an outlet to say your actual opinion. If people on the Internet get mad at me I barely care. IRL I try to be waaaaaay more diplomatic than here because here I don't worry as much about hurting the feelings of people I don't really know or care if I cause a tense situation. Like if I was at a party with my friends I wouldn't let loose on my opinion about dogs because half the people I know have dogs. I wouldn't want to cast a shadow on a fun Friday night by listing all the reasons I think their lovable little dog is completely disgusting. Those conversations are a total buzzkill IRL, but on CP can lead to fun debates.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by Sliver

I don't get that. I love CP because it gives you an outlet to say your actual opinion. If people on the Internet get mad at me I barely care. IRL I try to be waaaaaay more diplomatic than here because here I don't worry as much about hurting the feelings of people I don't really know or care if I cause a tense situation. Like if I was at a party with my friends I wouldn't let loose on my opinion about dogs because half the people I know have dogs. I wouldn't want to cast a shadow on a fun Friday night by listing all the reasons I think their lovable little dog is completely disgusting. Those conversations are a total buzzkill IRL, but on CP can lead to fun debates.

Absolutely, but in some cases those debates turn into a handful of posters ragging on you continually. It hasn't happened to me in a few years at least, but if I was mikey posting in a thread like this, I wouldn't want to hang around long. Maybe I have learned to be more diplomatic, who knows.

If I wanted to get crapped on I would play video games all day and then go up and ask my wife what was for dinner and complain that the house wasn't clean.

[Sliver]

Originally Posted by Rathji

Absolutely, but in some cases those debates turn into a handful of posters ragging on you continually. It hasn't happened to me in a few years at least, but if I was mikey posting in a thread like this, I wouldn't want to hang around long. Maybe I have learned to be more diplomatic, who knows.

If I wanted to get crapped on I would play video games all day and then go up and ask my wife what was for dinner and complain that the house wasn't clean.

Be brave, Rathji. Let us hear your crazy opinions!

[KootenayFlamesFan]

I went with option 3 because I believe when I was a lot younger I was brainwashed to thinking it was 'gross' and 'icky', but as I've progressed into adult years and formed my own opinions I really have been firmly entrenched in the pro-marriage camp.

I'm not sure if I was really anti-marriage before as much as I was just too immature to voice my opinion after putting some serious thought into it, but either way I went with option 3.

[GGG]

I said consistantly support gay marriage in the poll but I should clarify my response because my real position is that the government shouldn't use the word Marriage for anyone as it has become to politicized of a word and it has a very different meaning for many different people. The government shoiuld just issue civil unions or economic parterships to everyone and give the word marriage back to who ever wants to use it. The ceremonial aspect and the legal aspect should be separated.

However if the above could not happen than as a second choice is / was allowing gay marriage.

[afc wimbledon]

I am old enough to remember when the question woud have been
a) should gay people be locked up in a mental hospital?
b) should gay people be locked up in prison?

[Senator Clay Davis]

Furthering KootenayFlamesFan's point, most of us when we were young used the word gay consistently as an insult, not because we were homophobic, but rather because we were childish and immature. I'd also like to think that many people who were against gay marriage at one point have also evolved to understand this isn't so much about marriage as it is about equality.

[Yeah_Baby]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

I went with option 3 because I believe when I was a lot younger I was brainwashed to thinking it was 'gross' and 'icky', but as I've progressed into adult years and formed my own opinions I really have been firmly entrenched in the pro-marriage camp.

I'm not sure if I was really anti-marriage before as much as I was just too immature to voice my opinion after putting some serious thought into it, but either way I went with option 3.

Ditto. I really wanted to say I was always in favor of it, in fact I have been my entire adult life. But if you count the high school brainwashed years, I don't have the right to say that.

[LChoy]

I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one to pick option #3

When this first became an issue, I thought it really wasn't a big deal. Marriage = man + woman, just like how it always was
However, as I looked into the issue, I realized it's not just about having a piece of paper saying you're married, or having a ceremony, or being allowed to marry someone your own gender. It's about rights that married folks have that same gendered relationships don't. Things like having a say in hospital situations if there husband/wife/partner is at the hospital, child custody rights, taxes, legal benefits...etc

Once I understood that it's about equality, then it's very easy to be supportive of gay marriage.

[MarchHare]

I voted for option 1) as I've always been in favour of legalizing gay marriage for as long as I've been an adult and the issue has been in the news. In the early CP threads on this topic from 7-8 years ago, I was one of the few posters on the "pro" side of the debate.

If you go back far enough, to when I was a teenager, I was likely opposed to it, but I didn't vote for 3) because I was too young to have an informed opinion then. At the time, it really wasn't an issue that attracted much debate or discussion to inform my views.

[Azure]

Against it at one time, completely in favour now simply because I don't believe the government has the right to prevent two consenting adults to marry whoever they want.

The whole idea that gay marriage will ruin the sanctity of marriage is laughable at best considering the vast majority of churches openly accept divorce AND remarriage. And the Bible is pretty bluntly against remarriage.

[undercoverbrother]

voted, maybe we need a 5th option "I think this is much to do about nothing"

[photon]

Originally Posted by undercoverbrother

voted, maybe we need a 5th option "I think this is much to do about nothing"

Thinking equal rights is nothing isn't really an alternative option to the 4, it doesn't state a position on the matter, it just states a degree of caring about the matter.

A 5th option would be "I don't know" or haven't formed an opinion yet or something like that, but such people can simply not cast their vote then.

[onetwo_threefour]

I have always been socially liberal, and as long as I have been aware that marriage was an institution that some gay people wanted to join, I have been in favour. I briefly flirted with the 'get government out of marriage altogether' camp, but it was never about denying gays full participation in the social institution. It was about the historic nature of marriage being something that a modern society might want to distance itself from; dowry/chattels, arranged marriages, marriage by rape, all being things that could be seen as tainting the institution far more than a same-sex couple getting married.

[undercoverbrother]

Originally Posted by photon

Thinking equal rights is nothing isn't really an alternative option to the 4, it doesn't state a position on the matter, it just states a degree of caring about the matter.

A 5th option would be "I don't know" or haven't formed an opinion yet or something like that, but such people can simply not cast their vote then.

My post was poorly worded perhaps the 5th option should be I can't believe this hasn't occured sooner.

To be clear I do not think equal right is "nothing". I support the right to gay marriage.