This blog is for students from Lawrence Free State High School in Lawrence, KS and students from Mildenhall College of Technology in Mildenhall, England.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
American Current Event: Same Sex Marriage
Please post questions, comments and obervations about same sex marriage under the comments section.
I think gay marriage should be legal everywhere. I do not really understand why it is illegal in the first place. People cannot control who other people love. Lawmakers should not have the authority and power to keep those who love eachother from being united.
I feel like America is behind the times with the mindset that gay marriage should be illegal. Is this true? Do England and the rest of Europe agree that same sex marriage should be legal? Or is this a hot issue everywhere?
I think it depends on who you ask. Some will say that its just disgusting but others will say that it should be fine. Currently in England it is not called marriage but is called a civil partnership but thats just a name, both marriages and civil partnerships have the same rights. I dont know abaout the rest of Europe but I imagine its the same or very similar.
I agree with Dakota. I don't believe people should control who other people love, even if it is the same sex or not. I believe its only has been allowed for people to have legal 'civil partnership' since 2005.
Agreed, the thing is over here to a lot of people a civil ceremony and a marriage aren't considered as separate things. For example if you asked someone who'd had a civil ceremony if they were married they'd say yes and it would mean the same thing.
I think that's a really good idea- if you stop calling it marriage the people who oppose same sex marriage for religious reasons will stop being so upset, but same sex couples could still enjoy the legal and emotional aspects of marriage. The problem with implementing that here would be that a civil partnership kind of thing doesn't have the same connotations as marriage just yet.
Dakota, the problem with eliminating the role of law in marriage is that then fun things like bestiality are thrown into the mix. Can a woman who had a marriage ceremony with her cat, whom she truly loves, be qualified for tax benefits? It sounds ridiculous, but it would happen if we are too loose with marriage laws.
I agree that marriage and civil parterships should have the same legal rights, and I think that over time, if they are treated as the same thing, they will start to be considered the same thing, without any religious objection about using the word 'marriage'.
Totally agree with Claire. The only reason we make a big deal about this is because of the issue of rights. If we just had the same rights, even under a different name than marriage, we'd be happy.
I agree with Claire. It doesn't matter what the name is, as long as we get the same rights. I mean, if marriage as a spiritual union meant that much to people, then one would think they would have their own wedding, one that's not official. It doesn't matter what the process of gaining joint rights are.
I feel that in the US, though, there will always be a religious objection to using the words "marriage" and "civil partnership" interchangeably, since a lot of religious-based offense COMES from a pre-conception of what marriage is through a religious stand-point.
I agree with both Elise and Claire. I think that while using the term "civil partnership" would reduce outbursts from religious institutions, it would also attract offense because of the closeness between the two terms (with regards to rights and connotations). Many religions also preach that both gay marriage AND the actual relationship between same-sex couples is wrong. I think that regardless of the terminology, some people will always take offense to the idea of gay marriage, and this is something that will hopefully lessen in years to come.
Dear Amy, I don't want to marry my cat (only Luke Cortese does). Also, there is a guy somewhere, I think in Germany, who married his cat. Let's all be like Germans so Luke can be happy. I agree with Elise because there is definitely bias involved in the words "marriage" and "civil partnerships."
Just because some people may take offense to the legilization of gay marriage, it does not justify withholding these extremely meaningful rights from millions of human beings. I also don't believe that religious beliefs should impact the results of an issue that involves personal rights of individuals. Why should my religious beliefs impact who you can call your spouse?
I think gay marriage should be legal everywhere. I do not really understand why it is illegal in the first place. People cannot control who other people love. Lawmakers should not have the authority and power to keep those who love eachother from being united.
ReplyDeleteI feel like America is behind the times with the mindset that gay marriage should be illegal. Is this true? Do England and the rest of Europe agree that same sex marriage should be legal? Or is this a hot issue everywhere?
ReplyDeleteI think it depends on who you ask. Some will say that its just disgusting but others will say that it should be fine. Currently in England it is not called marriage but is called a civil partnership but thats just a name, both marriages and civil partnerships have the same rights. I dont know abaout the rest of Europe but I imagine its the same or very similar.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Dakota. I don't believe people should control who other people love, even if it is the same sex or not. I believe its only has been allowed for people to have legal 'civil partnership' since 2005.
ReplyDeleteAgreed, the thing is over here to a lot of people a civil ceremony and a marriage aren't considered as separate things. For example if you asked someone who'd had a civil ceremony if they were married they'd say yes and it would mean the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a really good idea- if you stop calling it marriage the people who oppose same sex marriage for religious reasons will stop being so upset, but same sex couples could still enjoy the legal and emotional aspects of marriage. The problem with implementing that here would be that a civil partnership kind of thing doesn't have the same connotations as marriage just yet.
ReplyDeleteDakota, the problem with eliminating the role of law in marriage is that then fun things like bestiality are thrown into the mix. Can a woman who had a marriage ceremony with her cat, whom she truly loves, be qualified for tax benefits? It sounds ridiculous, but it would happen if we are too loose with marriage laws.
ReplyDeleteI agree that marriage and civil parterships should have the same legal rights, and I think that over time, if they are treated as the same thing, they will start to be considered the same thing, without any religious objection about using the word 'marriage'.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with Claire. The only reason we make a big deal about this is because of the issue of rights. If we just had the same rights, even under a different name than marriage, we'd be happy.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Claire. It doesn't matter what the name is, as long as we get the same rights. I mean, if marriage as a spiritual union meant that much to people, then one would think they would have their own wedding, one that's not official. It doesn't matter what the process of gaining joint rights are.
ReplyDeleteZoe and I should move to England.
I feel that in the US, though, there will always be a religious objection to using the words "marriage" and "civil partnership" interchangeably, since a lot of religious-based offense COMES from a pre-conception of what marriage is through a religious stand-point.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Elise and Claire. I think that while using the term "civil partnership" would reduce outbursts from religious institutions, it would also attract offense because of the closeness between the two terms (with regards to rights and connotations). Many religions also preach that both gay marriage AND the actual relationship between same-sex couples is wrong. I think that regardless of the terminology, some people will always take offense to the idea of gay marriage, and this is something that will hopefully lessen in years to come.
ReplyDeleteDear Amy, I don't want to marry my cat (only Luke Cortese does). Also, there is a guy somewhere, I think in Germany, who married his cat. Let's all be like Germans so Luke can be happy. I agree with Elise because there is definitely bias involved in the words "marriage" and "civil partnerships."
ReplyDeleteJust because some people may take offense to the legilization of gay marriage, it does not justify withholding these extremely meaningful rights from millions of human beings. I also don't believe that religious beliefs should impact the results of an issue that involves personal rights of individuals. Why should my religious beliefs impact who you can call your spouse?
ReplyDelete