07-09-2010, 07:24 PM
Kalama, you asked "Do you think the real issue with homosexuals is about civil rights and benefits or is it actually about the absolute acceptance by society that they think the word marriage may bring to their beliefs?"
Let me take a stab at answering your question. I am a homosexual (it's not a belief, its what I am..how God made me). Do I care what society thinks about me or my relationship? Well, it would be nice if everyone loved me or approved of everything I do. In my opinion, however, people who live their lives always seeking the approval of others are not, in fact, living their living their lives...
My real issue is the fact that our state and nation's laws do not treat me and the person I am in a relationship with the same way they treat you and your special someone. If your other half is hospitalized, do you worry that you will be denied access to their hospital room because you're not "immediate family"? If your employer provides health benefits, odds are your spouse is covered too - but that isn't always true for gay partners (and when coverage is available, we have to pay tax on the benefit of partner coverage, while married people don't). The disparity in social security coverage has already been mentioned (if anything happens to me or my partner, the surviving party won't receive any of the social security benefits afforded to married spouses). I order to receive many of the protections automatically granted to a married couple, my partner and I had to spend hundreds of dollars in legal fees to draft documents detailing our wishes. I could go on and on... The real point to me is, if society is going to bestow tangible benefits to two people who decide to join their lives in a relationship, those benefits need to be bestowed on *all* couples, not just male/female couples. The arguments about children, polygamy, natural law, etc., etc. etc. are all immaterial. If Pat and Chris (a straight couple in a committed relationship) get societal benefits then Pat and Chris (a same sex couple in a committed relationship) should get those benefits too.
Let me take a stab at answering your question. I am a homosexual (it's not a belief, its what I am..how God made me). Do I care what society thinks about me or my relationship? Well, it would be nice if everyone loved me or approved of everything I do. In my opinion, however, people who live their lives always seeking the approval of others are not, in fact, living their living their lives...
My real issue is the fact that our state and nation's laws do not treat me and the person I am in a relationship with the same way they treat you and your special someone. If your other half is hospitalized, do you worry that you will be denied access to their hospital room because you're not "immediate family"? If your employer provides health benefits, odds are your spouse is covered too - but that isn't always true for gay partners (and when coverage is available, we have to pay tax on the benefit of partner coverage, while married people don't). The disparity in social security coverage has already been mentioned (if anything happens to me or my partner, the surviving party won't receive any of the social security benefits afforded to married spouses). I order to receive many of the protections automatically granted to a married couple, my partner and I had to spend hundreds of dollars in legal fees to draft documents detailing our wishes. I could go on and on... The real point to me is, if society is going to bestow tangible benefits to two people who decide to join their lives in a relationship, those benefits need to be bestowed on *all* couples, not just male/female couples. The arguments about children, polygamy, natural law, etc., etc. etc. are all immaterial. If Pat and Chris (a straight couple in a committed relationship) get societal benefits then Pat and Chris (a same sex couple in a committed relationship) should get those benefits too.