Quote:
Originally Posted by racquel
They shouldn't, but apparently the majority of this country doesn't agree. Old white fundamentalists outnumber the LGBTs by a lot -- and they always vote. |
Well, I wouldn't blame it all on "old white fundamentalists". A recent Gallup poll showed support for same-sex marriage was still only hovering in the 40-44% region, so it's still NOT in the majority. And last time I checked, Barack Obama DEFINITELY wouldn't qualify as an "old white fundamentalist" and let the record show that he's gone on the record as being against same-sex marriage, too.
The problem for the LGBT community is the same problem they've had all along -- it's over the emotional charged use of the word "marriage", which is still holds back most of Middle America from throwing their full support behind the movement. Middle America is still religious at heart, no matter what their age and no matter which way they lean politically (Left or Right). Basically, most Americans have no problem with same-sex couples, they have no problems with them getting legal rights, but the flat out truth is that they ALSO don't want same-sex couples destroying what they feel are their religious beliefs, and they absolutely don't want to see same-sex marriages impeding on their churches or their personal rights.
At that point, public support drops drastically. As NEWSWEEK noted not too long ago (and this bears out the Gallup poll numbers):
"Americans continue to find civil unions for gays and lesbians more palatable than full-fledged marriage. Fifty-five percent of respondents favor legally sanctioned unions or partnerships, but only 39 percent support marriage rights."
Quote:
Originally Posted by racquel
But if everybody just had their own little ceremony, gave each other rings, and just said they were married without doing a bunch of paperwork things would be a lot simpler in life anyway.
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Except that brings forth the argument that those who are AGAINST same-sex marriage will always pull out: if being together is REALLY what same-sex couples are after...if that's REALLY their end goal and they are just looking to be a committed couple...then WHY do you even need a church ceremony to validate your commitment to each other? Hey, if you want to be a couple that's committed for life, then fine -- stay at home, exchange some rings in private, open some champagne and toast each other, and congrats -- you're now committed to each other. Go have a nice life. NO ONE is stopping same-sex couples from doing ANY of that.
Which brings us full circle to what I posted above. As an issue, same-sex marriage is NOT about love and commitment or anything even remotely sentimental like that. Anyone arguing that is just putting up a smokescreen, trying to tug at the heart strings to make same-sex marriage seem more palatable to the general public at large. The truth is this battle is ALL about the legal rights and side benefits/perks that come from slapping the word "marriage" on, and that's what everyone is scrambling over.