[hpotterfan77]

Originally Posted by Kaduka1

If Florida isn't meeting your needs, perhaps another state will be more conducive to your needs. I don't think most people would discriminate someone for whatever lifestyle they chose but most don't like it in their face or forced on them. It isn't about hate but respect is a two way street and its plane the gay community has no respect for religious institutions. I think you're just using this forum as a way to debate and argue as you push your agenda.

No respect for religious institutions? That's a joke right? How about religious institutions that are trying to infringe upon the rights of everyone that doesn't think like them instead of live and let live. Perhaps if these religious institutions stopped trying to prevent someone from marrying the person that they love and minded their own business, there would be no issue. Gays want to be able to have the same right to marry their partner as any straight person. Just because your religious, doesn't mean everyone in the country thinks the same way. I was raised a Catholic and now consider myself agnostic because the older I got, the more I could see what a crock religion was BUT....I don't sit there and try to stop the Catholics from going to church just because I no longer agree with it. I'm straight but if gays want to get married and be treated equally...more power to them. Don't like gay marriage, don't get one but stop trying to tell everyone else who they can and cannot love.

[smarino]

There will be a lot of reactive push back to this law from people who feel that their culture (way of life, religion, etc) is being threatened. They're right, it is being threatened. As the song says, the times they are a changing. So it won't be an easy transition. It will take time as well. Changes in the laws are only the first step, the changes in consciousness are what we're really talking about. The freedom of individuals to live their lives any way that they wish (as long as no one else is injured) w/o government interference is what we see on the surface, but below that surface is fear. Fear that the people currently in power (simply due to numbers, not due to an intrinsic right to that power) are going to lose some of that power to determine how other people live their lives. Again, they're right. That is exactly what is happening, not just in Florida, but worldwide.

The fear, in my opinion, comes from the Christian far right wing. I have never heard a Buddhist or Native American express any concerns over this issue. The fundamentalist viewpoint, and this is true of basically all fundamentalist movements, Christian or otherwise, is that they and they alone own the truth, and you are either with them or against them. It's a polarized position that always, always, always leads to discrimination and suffering for the people involved on BOTH sides of this issue. You cannot express fear, anger, contempt, etc w/o becoming it yourself. That's the way it works. It's also a corruption of the teachings of any and all true religions. Turn on your TV some time late at night and you will see a hoard of folks telling, or attempting to tell, others what is wrong and what is right. These people have absolutely nothing to do w/ the teachings of the founder of their religion, it's something they have twisted into a tool they can use against others that think and act differently than them, and it keeps them in power and others out. What I am saying is not a condemnation of the Christian religion or any other religion. There's nothing wrong w/ any true religion, whatever that may be. There's something wrong w/ the people who say they are this or that, when their words and actions clearly show that are not.

Because this is a profound, deeply felt issue to a lot of people, changes in attitude and consciousness will come much slower than changes in laws. It's important to differentiate between what is lawful, and what is just and correct. Slavery was legal for many years, the Trail of Tears was legal, and denying women the right to vote was legal. The list goes on and on. This is as true in other countries as it is here. If I may, I would like to quote something by Margaret Meade on this subject; "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has".

[StarfishKey]

It's pretty simple, really. Treat others how you would like to be treated. If you would not like to be prevented from owning a home, or if you would not like to suddenly be fired from your job, because they found out that you are straight, because you are white, because you are Christian, etc., then don't do the same to others because they are gay, because they are Black, because they are Jewish, etc.

Don't force people to live in fear and secrecy about who they are, as law-abiding, tax-paying citizens. They are equal to you. That is a reasonable human value to understand, whether you are religious, secular, or something in between. We are not all the same, but we all deserve the same amount of respect, human dignity, and civil rights as each other - up until someone commits a felony against their community. Law-abiding and tax-paying citizens of the US all legally deserve the same rights as each other, no matter how they choose to spend their time in their own home, or how much melanin is in their skin, or what color their eyes or hair are. Red-headed people deserve housing too, and should not be evicted when their landlord finds out that they had red hair all along but never happened to mention it on the application.

In fact, whether or not the tenant was born with red hair is none of the landlord's business. The landlord's business is whether or not the tenant pays the rent. The employer's business is whether or not the employee does their job. It is not your employer's business whether or not you like to do your wife doggy or missionary when you are in your own bedroom. It is not your employer's business if you once got divorced, or as a teenager you were caught shoplifting, or if you once lied to your uncle, and their religion "does not believe in that." None of these have anything to do with the performance of your job. You should not be fired because suddenly they find out that you bought a pickup truck to drive to work and they only believe in electric cars. You should not be fired because you caught pneumonia and your employer believes only sinners catch sickness. You should not be fired because you had to get glasses and they believe that all people with glasses are untrustworthy. You should not be fired because your employer found out you have a dog and they are cat people. What you do in your own life, is actually none of your employer's business. Their business, is how well you perform the job you were hired for. Nothing else.