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I agree with you 100%, I'm just trying to see it from their perspective if that's even possible, lol. I just find it hypocritical that they would say, well we support having unions, but just not marriages, but then turn right around and ban civil unions along with the gay marriages.
Sorry.
I'm a Centrist and not a conservative, but Equality is a subject close to me heart, especially when religion gets involved.
A small premptive rant, I guess.
I'll just tiptoe quietly over to the coffee and cookie table.
I agree, but sometimes progress has to come in stages. Civil unions would be better than nothing, but unfortunately, many have an all-or-nothing mentality - on both sides of this issue.
I fully admit to having an all-or-nothing mentality where Equality is concerned.
There simply isn't any reasonable secular reason to deny Equality of Marriage to the GLBT community.
I think we agree on that.
The prime motivator behind the denial of this basic Civil Right for the GLBT community is religiously based. And I think we can both also agree that religious doctrine has no business in US Laws.
I know this hasn't been in the news much, since we've been focusing on health care issues, but it's been on my mind.
I understand that some conservatives say they don't support marriage because of their religious beliefs which is okay (well not really in my opinion, lol, but I respect their opinions), but many say they would be okay with civil unions and benefits for same-sex couples. If that's the case, then why did so many people in so many states, vote for a constitutional ban for gay marriage AND civil unions. Currently 18 (Idaho, Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan, South Carolina, and Ohio) states have such a constitutional ban for civil unions. Many other states have statute bans with similar laws. If you don't want "gay marriage" then why ban unions?
I will try to answer your questions the best way I can, as long as you don't get offended, for i have no intention of arguing with anybody in this forum.
To me "marriage" is the union of a man and a woman, therefore there isn't such thing as "same sex marriage." I also believe that some benefits should be offered to same sex couples (will explain below), as long as these are also offered to living-together heterosexual couples.
The benefits I refer to are as follows:
For government employees (Federal, State, city, borough), not to the private sector employees. In this case, such benefits shouldn't be mandated by any government, but instituted by the company itself. A lot of companies already do that, but unless they offer the same benefits to heterosexual single couples, they leave themselves open for civil lawsuits. The same for Sate or government employees.
-Life and health insurances
-Visiting rights at hospitals
-Education benefits (public school employees)
(There may be others I don't remember). But such benefits can easily be arranged for by crafting a legal document.
To me "marriage" is the union of a man and a woman, therefore there isn't such thing as "same sex marriage."
As far as I know, Alaska only banned same-sex marriage. It didn't ban civil unions. Would you be comfortable with civil unions for same-sex couples if they included the same rights and responsibilities as marriage?
So much for liberalism. It's mostly just lip service.
No, it is a perfect example of how fundamentalists, ie the religious right (sic), in this Nation gain much more of a say in politics than they are entitled to.
They prey on the religiousity of Christians who other wise wouldn't give two hoots.
Prop 8 simply didn't have the numbers to pass until the FLDS and Catholics got involved late in the game and poured literally millions into billboard and TV campaigns, entitled "The Gathering Storm".
California still has civil unions, although I disagree with the way things went out there. My question is specifically for states that ban civil unions along with gay marriage, and specifically the social conservative voters who are against gay "marriage" (because they believe the word "marriage" is between a man a woman), but don't mind unions, why did you go along with the vote to constitutionally ban unions with marriages? I'm interested to know your (and other conservatives) response.
I'm an Independent....And I vote that way...Voted For Daddy Bush...Voted for John Kerry..
The prime motivator behind the denial of this basic Civil Right for the GLBT community is religiously based. And I think we can both also agree that religious doctrine has no business in US Laws.
Oh yes, I'm confident that we do agree about most of what we're saying, but I'm not sure if the denial is primarily based on religion. I think there's a very large percentage of people who voted against same-sex marriage and/or civil unions because they simply don't like the idea of homosexuality. Perhaps more than a vote on same-sex unions, these ballot initiatives are essentially referenda on whether or not the voters think that homosexual attractions are acceptable or not.
As far as I know, Alaska only banned same-sex marriage. It didn't ban civil unions. Would you be comfortable with civil unions for same-sex couples if they included the same rights and responsibilities as marriage?
The Sate of Alaska already offers the same work benefits to all its employees, married or not, regardless of sexual "persuasion"
Now, to answer your question about civil unions: which benefits are offered to married heterosexual couples that aren't offered to others?
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