I give up. You people just don't get it. Equality for some does not mean equality for all.
Try reading the links you post as well:
Marriage is a
social,
religious,
spiritual, or
legal union of individuals. This union may also be called
matrimony, while the ceremony that marks its beginning is usually called a
wedding and the married status created is sometimes called
wedlock.
Marriage is an
institution in which
interpersonal relationships (usually
intimate and
sexual) are acknowledged by the
state or by
religious authority. It is often viewed as a
contract. Civil marriage is the legal concept of marriage as a governmental institution, in accordance with
marriage laws of the jurisdiction. If recognized by the
state, by the
religion(s) to which the parties belong or by
society in general, the act of marriage changes the personal and social
status of the individuals who enter into it.
People marry for many reasons, but usually one or more of the following: legal, social, and economic stability; the formation of a
family unit;
procreation and the education and nurturing of children; legitimizing sexual relations; public declaration of
love; or to obtain citizenship.
[1][2]
Marriage may take
many forms: for example, a union between one
man and one
woman as
husband and
wife is a
monogamous heterosexual marriage;
polygamy – in which a person takes more than one
spouse – is common in some
societies.
[3] Recently, some jurisdictions
[4] and
denominations[5][6][7] have begun to recognize
same-sex marriage, uniting people of the
same sex.
A marriage is often formalized during a
marriage ceremony,
[8] which may be performed either by a religious officiant, by a
secular State authorised officiator, or (in weddings that have no church or state affiliation) by a trusted friend of the wedding participants. The act of marriage usually creates normative or legal obligations between the individuals involved and, in many societies, their extended families.
Article 16 of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights declares that "Men and women of full age, without any limitation due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses." The
Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam gives men and women the "right to marriage" regardless of their race, colour or nationality, but not religion.
~~~
Marriage has not always been a Civil Union regulated by the state. The State should not be involved. I am not going to argue this anymore with you people. I don't like agenda's and I don't like people trying to portray me as something I am not. You are the worst kind of activists. Using words like equality to advance an agenda is just evil. I wish to protect a first amendment right of religious freedom...you desire to strip it down and convolute the issue in order to mold society into something you desire. You are no different than the extremists on the other side. In the end, we ALL will have less freedom because the state always wins in a situation like this. Why can't you people see that?!?
And why is it okay to discriminate against the religious? And what am I to you? Am I the religious bigot you are referring too? Are you fear mongering people into a no vote by calling all the yes voters bigots and hate mongers? If you truly believed in freedom and equality you would be trying to figure out a way to respect ALL beliefs, but you only care about respecting ONE belief. I am trying to come up with as solution to satisfy both sides and for that even I am being called a bigot and a hateful discriminator. I hope the people who read this understand and see you for what you are.
I will vote yes on Prop 8 and I will leave California if it fails to pass. I feel sorry for you that you do not see reality for what it is. I have never done anything hateful or spiteful to any gay person, nor would I ever. However, my religious beliefs(not even as devout as I should be) are being stripped away from me and because I oppose that; those who want gay marriage say I am discriminating and a bigot. You are destroying the nation by destroying its diverse ethno-religious background. You want to make everyone the same, but not equal under God...rather equal under certain agendas. I cannot condone that and I will not live under that type of Tyranny.
I am truly done here now... I just can't handle the absurdity of the arguements any longer. Besides, if being gay is a personal choice then so is being religious which makes the wants and needs of both sides EQUAL. You cannot ignore one side just to advance the agenda of the other. That is what happened when the courts made this ruling, so the reaction was Prop 8 which is equally inequal as the court decision. Since neither side is willing to compromise, the final battle of this war is Prop 8. It's too bad no one was willing to work for a compromise that was mutually unsatisfying. If religion loses its war for freedom, I will leave California. That is what it comes down too. I would have "preferred" a compromise, but it really is too late for that. I cannot side with the gay agenda because I am not gay...I am a Christian, therefore I should vote for the agenda that protects my freedoms and Civil Rights. There is nothing bigotted about that...nothing at all. Why would I cast a vote against my self interest? Are you saying, I should sacrifice for the benefit of society? lol Sorry, that is how Hitler convinced a nation to follow him...
I digress...I love California and have lived here all of my life, but I can put up with only so much tyranny. I am already close to wanting to leave because of the growth of the state over the past 20 years...but I think this might be the death blow for me. My love of freedom will overrule my love of California.
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