How does allowing gay marriage harm the "institution of marriage"?

[LeftCoast]

One of the main RW talking points is that they must somehow protect marriage. How exactly, does the marriage of two men or two women harm the institution? Can someone help me on this one, 'cuz I'm stumped.

[ewagner]

1. It doesn't

Instead of an amendment to the constitution, I propose a new Commandment:

THOU SHALT MIND THINE OWN BUSINESS!!!

[LeftCoast]

2. "Judge not, lest ye be judged"

I forget who said that...

:eyes:

[rbnyc]

5. I love your sigline!

It's really great.

[LeftCoast]

9. Thanks!

:D

[noiretextatique]

14. no...it should be a constitutional amendment

if you don't "believe in it," don't do it. that should cover all the religiously-charged issues.

[togiak]

3. They don't have an answer to that

I also go to another board that is a Fundamentalist Christian Right Wing board.

They are in an uproar about the SF Gay Marriage issue and keep on screaming about how it is going to destroy the institution of marriage and how it will destroy society.

I ask them over and over again to explain to me how it going to do those things and they never come up with an answer. They just repeat the same statement.

[Misinformed01]

7. Hey. Just for fun, ask them to explain why the Bible

ignores Lesbians.

[indigo32]

17. lol

eom

[Ilsa]

15. They are pushing * further over to the right.

I think * knows he just looks like a bigot cow-towing to their ridiculous demands. He didn't seem to be enjoying himself when he was discussing it today.

CBS also reported that the Log Cabin Republicans all but abandoned the Chimp in Charge, calling it a declaration of war against them.

I think the issue makes * look worse overall, ot more presidential.

[Misinformed01]

4. It doesn't. "Christians" are just so damned busy

reading Paul that they can't think straight.

Fundies might just be proof that evolution is crap; God knows they quit thinking for themselves right after the last T Rex dropped into the tar pit.

[Malva Zebrina]

6. it is the "sanctity of marriage" that they promote

and that is a Christian concept not a legal concept

[TheRedMan]

8. Speaking as a married hetero

I don't have the first freaking clue.

Actually Bob Barr(!) said it best:

"The fact of the matter is that gays and lesbians themselves do not threaten the institution of marriage. They should not be blamed or made scapegoats for the weakening of thefundamental institution of marriage.

"Men and women, husbands and wives by the millions, who care more for Mercedes-Benzes and four-car garages than for teaching their children values and helping with their homework, have done a fine job of that, thank you. Live-in heterosexual lovers who want the benefits of marriage without the responsibility or the costs, and who have no more regard for the well-being of children of a former marriage than they do for their boyfriend or girlfriend's Weimaraner, have done more to destroy this vital institution than all the gays and lesbians could ever hope to do even if they tried. "

[doc03]

16. Bob said that!

[WoodrowFan]

10. 2 possible reasons..

1. us straight married folks will be so discouraged that we'll all be divorced.

2. Being married will become a "gay thing" so we'll all get divorced rather than be mistaken for being gay.

:eyes: yes, this was sarcasm, if my eyes rolled any further back in my head they'd fall out my ears...

[Demobrat]

11. People who make that argument are

rarely in happy marriages themselves. But being married makes them feel better about themselves than being single does, and gives them a way to look down on others. Now, if every Tom, Dick and Harry can get married it sort of negates the argument that married people are morally superior, so if being unhappily married doesn't make them better than you, what's the point of giving their lives over to an institution that makes them miserable?

[myopic4141]

12. Divorce and remarry.

As far as I can tell, the only thing that the opponents of gay marriage have to fear from its legalization is that their husband/wife would divorce them to remarry with another man/women respectively. Beyond that, I cannot think of anything to be afraid of.

[LeftCoast]

32. Welcome to DU!

:hi:

[mulsh]

13. gosh it's obvious

when we straights see happily married gay couples we'll start wanting gay marriages. who ever heard of a gay divorice... oh wait wasn't that a musical or something. never mind.
Also, if gays are allowed to get married then the institution is no longer, uh, special.
and just think of how awfull it will be when couples go to sign up for a bridal registry and have their taste in dinnerware vetted by some hypercritical queen. I mean really, that's going to hurt both straights and gays. I'll bet that's the real reason people object to gay marriage.
>sarcasm off<
My wife and I (married 12 years, first marriage for both of us) had a heated argument with one of my oldest friends over this issue. turns out he (2 failed marriages) his father & mother(3 trashed marriages a piece) and both brothers (1 & 2 marriages) are very much against gay marriage, I can see why

[kayell]

20. It's working already

The dreaded gay marriage agenda at work:

1. Hetero married male thinks about gay marriage.

2. Hetero married male thinks about gay divorce.

3. Some what less hetero male starts thinking about musicals.

4. Well it's obvious what happens to men who spend lots of time thinking about musicals, isn't it?

Bwaaaahaaahaaaa


Now I'm off to tell some sweet young thing that she can change her own oil, and do home carpentry projects.... heehee

[anti-NAFTA]

18. It's mostly about Zeitgeist.

They don't want to live in a society that accepts gays. Go figure.

[LeftCoast]

19. For the evening crowd

:kick:

Still looking for the answer. Not really expecting to get one.

:eyes:

[HornBuckler]

21. Here's What I've Heard

-Not My Opinions-

1. Gay Marriage Would Errode Marriage (yeah Whatever That Is)

2. Young Boys Will Be "Hit-on" More Often As Sexual Instruments (I'm Not Making This Up - Victor Boc Talk Radio Portland OR)

3. The Image Of A "Mother" Will Be Degregated (How? I Dont Know)

4. Slippery Slope Argument (People Will Marry Their Sofa Etc)

And The TRUTH

5. They Are All Just Bigots

[kayell]

26. The image of a mother will be degraded???

how? Someone will look at me, say OMG, that lesbian is not only a mother, she's a grandmother too, and the whole concept of motherhood will immediatly crumble? People will stop having children because the concept of motherhood has been so debased and the entire human race will die out?

People Will Marry Their Sofa - snarf!

I think you pegged it with #5

[HornBuckler]

27. I Put This In Another Thread But What The Hell

It's As Relevant Now As It Ever Was


Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

- B Dylan

[donco6]

37. Hee - people marrying their sofa.

That's a good one.

[proud patriot]

22. It doesn't and I don't feel my marriage is threatened by it

in the least .

[mlawson]

23. Because, once it's legalized, heterosexuals (especially men) will

feel absolutely COMPELLED to leave their happy marriages (and the kids), and go find someone of the same gender to marry!!! After all, once it's LEGAL, they will feel that they MUST do this, even though it will wreck their lives forever. And they won't like the sex part either, but what else can they do???

ONLY a Constitutional amendment can save these erstwhile happy marriages!!!! :eyes:

[kayell]

29. Darn, I was really hoping it would be all the heterosexual WOMEN

who would feel absolutely COMPELLED to seek out someone of the same gender. Why do the gay guys have all the luck?

[ComerPerro]

31. LOL

And the children! Somebody think of the children!!

Conservatives make me sick. Really.


I think a lot of these people feel that if they support the idea of Gay marriage, then they are somehow gay by association...

It doesn't make sense, but then again nor do any other Conservative viewpoints.

[Beetwasher]

24. They're Deathly Afraid

that gay people might be happy. Imagine if a whole lot of gays got married and eventually they found out gay marriages ended in less divorce? The fundies would go friggin' nuts...

[yellowcanine]

25. Gays might do a better job at being married?

Causing many heteros to get discouraged and give up? Best I could come up with - other than the one about everyone leaving their hetero spouse to go marry their same sex lover.

[dionysus]

28. don't you dare bring logic into this!!!!!

we must stop the gay marriage or the earth will spin out of orbit and into the sun!!! limbaugh told me so!!!! lol

[WolverineDG]

30. there are other things more harmful

to the "sanctity" of the american marriage which i feel are waaaay more important than whether or not the guys down the block are married to each other.

(1) Joblessness: nothing harms &/or destroys a marriage quicker than the breadwinner(s) losing a job. Many American families are one pay check away from homelessness. If we want to improve American families, why not start by improving the job market & economy so our families can have a stronger financial foundation? :think:

(2) Domestic violence: (okay, I work with victims of DV so this one is really close to my heart) If keeping American families from harm is such a priority, why did it take so damn long to start passing laws that criminalized spousal & child abuse??? In Texas, we have a pretty good protection order section to the family code (which I use almost everyday), but it's only 25 years old, and even now, many many families are still being terrorized & tortured each day & night by abusers. While counseling is required by statute, not many counties in Texas require that provision be followed up on (in Webb County, however, it's another story; you don't finish the program, you go to jail--yay judge!)

(3) Child abuse: Since the cry of "what's best for the children" keeps being raised---hey folks, what about fully funding Child Protective Services so that kids don't disappear (florida), are put in homes where they are also abused (new jersey), or left in extremely abusive situations resulting in their deaths (Texas--little Jovonie in San Antonio being the most recent outrageous case)????

(4) Heterosexuals treating marriage as a joke: Britney Spears. Need I say more?????? Okay, one more word: Adultery.

I could go on, but hopefully this will get the "no marriage" folks thinking a little bit harder about what is truly harmful to American marriages & families.

DG

[arewethereyet]

33. per the prez

"The union of a man and woman is the most enduring human institution, honored and encouraged in all cultures and by every religious faith. Ages of experience have taught humanity that the commitment of a husband and wife to love and to serve one another promotes the welfare of children and the stability of society."

I think that pretty much covers the viewpoint.

[Tank in Texas]

34. Not Even Close...

It doesn't. Nor is the act of a gay couple getting married "pushing" themselves on anybody else (as I heard a conservative pundit argue on "Haa-Baa" tonight.) On the contrary, I am not sure how the conservatives have any legal ground whatsoever on this issue other than they have appointed many of the judges.

[philosophie_en_rose]

35. Deep Thoughts by Freep Handey

1. I am a sheep. I follow the herd. If the herd catches gay, then I must be gay.

2. I am a sheep. I follow the shepard. If the shepard tells me to be afraid, I will be. No thinking necessary.

3. I am a sheep. With Rabies. If you disturb my commitment to #1 and #2, I will infect you.

[donco6]

36. Do you realize we all actually agree on this one?

Hard to believe around here lately.

:)