opinions on gay rights?
78949
If your talking about gay marriage rights. they should have none.  gay marriage should not be reconized
101989
I absolutely agree with you.  There is a ridiculous amount of discrimination based on sexual preference.  It nauseates me to read some of these answers.  \n\nFor example, astro thinks that gay people are misfits.  Well, there is bias in that because looking at the number of people in prison, I have a good mind to say that the majority are heterosexual males who have a hard time controlling themselves.   \n\npngarrett doesnt want to have homosexual lifestyles shoved down his throat because he (or she or whatever) does not go around saying "look at me I'm heterosexual."  Well, if this person has ever held hands with his or her significant other, kissed, been publicly married, etc, then he or she basically HAS gone around saying, "Look at me.  I'm a heterosexual."\n\nAll the religiously-based crap is just that: crap.\n\nApparently, fdf1925 is misinformed about what homosexuals actually want.  I don't remember seeing anyone asking for special rights.  I DO remember seeing many people want EQUAL rights.  And for the "normal laws," I am wondering which laws would cover insurance benefits, civil rights, and freedom to be who you are without chastisement for homosexuals?  I haven't seen any yet....And for the heterosexuals not displaying their undies or their sex life in public, I would like to remind you of nearly EVERY bit of advertising that goes on in this country.  SEX SELLS.  Undies do, too.  Patrolling for young people??!?!  WTF?  just...wow.\n\nihelp is a smart one...apparently homosexuality is addictive.  I guess that it should be cut and sold by the pound.  Could get expensive, though.  When we choose to be addicted to this drug called "gay" we might come to the realization that only rehab can help...get us off the "gay" and return to a normal and healthy co-dependent marriage and have children which will be educated to think that the "gay" drug is one of the most addictive.  o_O right.\n\nanna1 claims to not want to "hurt the gay paople" but her statement does just that.  She is setting up the division between "us and them."  How thoughtful.\n\nDonna M Z must think that the Bonobo monkeys are unnatural as well.  If hers is a religious belief, that homosexuality is "unnatural," then I challenge her to read up on some of the primate species who actually DO enjoy sex for the sake of it...doesnt matter which sex the other monkey is.  If "god" created the Bonobos, they are "his" creatures, and they behave in such a way, then I would have to say that God made some gay monkeys!  Yeehaw!  Nature is what it is, honey.  I hope you have a gay son- that way, you will have to call youself UNNATURAL because you bread the beast.\n\nI'm sorry, but I don't even have the energy to deal with str8_2_it.\n\nGOOD FOR YOU yodasminion!!!  My kind of thinker.\n\narikinder "doesnt have a problem with gay people" but wont ever support anything for them.  ok....he discounted his statement altogether with that.  \n\nSO essentially, I have no answer for your question.  Just thought I would make these people feel the same way homosexuals have been feeling for way too long- that is what you feel and what you know to be truth for you is made fun of, ridiculed, told is wrong, forced you to feel hurt, shame, embarassment, etc. I just have one question for all of you people who seem to think that homosexuality is a choice:\n\nDo you honestly think that people would CHOOSE to be treated the way bigoted heterosexuals treat homosexuals?  Do you honestly think homosexuals would want that?  That ANYONE would want that?
1131282
I wish I had a nickle for every time I've answered this question in the last few months.\n\nFor it.\n\nI'm not fond of the idea of gay marriage.  I won't marry my boyfriend even when the government recognizes gay marriages.\nI just don't need a piece of paper or a ceremony to validate my love.\n\nI do, however, believe that Equal rights means equal rights.  Gay people are getting married.  In christian churches and other religious venues all across the land.  One state already recognizes gay marriages.  A few others are attempting to equalize the situation by granting equal rights under a different name.\n\nWhen a group of people decide that because of THEIR beliefs and opinions, another group of people can't have the same rights and protections as they do, I have a problem with it.\n\nDiscrimination is wrong no matter what reason you want to give for it.  Equal rights isn't something gay people made up to annoy straight people.  Equal rights was thought of by the founding fathers of our great nation because far too often, when people obtain power and influence, they use it to supress other people.  Our founding fathers, understanding human nature, took steps to make sure that doesn't happen here.\n\nI don't want to marry my boyfriend.  I want the right to do it, and have the same protections straight people have when they do it.\nThere is no reason the government should set aside the intent of our founding fathers just because SOME people don't like us.
1011622
from a straight male. Those people that you refer to are afraid of anything, any thought, or any deed that is contrary to their own. Unfortunately, that line of thinking is shared by the mental midgets that run this country. I think that a child better off raised by 2 loving parents, regardless of their sexual preference. I support "gay marriage" because as taxpaying US citizens, gay couples should be afforded the same freedoms and protections that the hetero couples enjoy. ie; insurance dependancy, benefactor, pension, SS survivor benefits, etc...
860865
You definately picked the right place to ask your question!!!\n\nI don't see how the government has any right to say whether or not a gay couple should be married.  The institue of marriage is religous and therefore it should be up to the institue that will perform the ceremony to decide if they wish to do it or not.  If I decided I wanted to spend the rest of my life with a woman I wouldn't go to, say, a Catholic church and expect the priest to marry us.  What IS wrong though, is that there are Christian communities that support the idea of gay marriage and cannot perform the ceremony because it is against the law and America won't honor it.\n\nWhat I don't get is why everyone says that if two people of the same sex get married religous fanatics say that it will disturb the sanctity of marriage... meanwhile Britney Spears can get drunk with a friend, have Elvis marry her, and then have it anulled the next day.  I'm not saying that all people who are gay are perfect because truth-be-told, we are still human.  Us as a society has changed so much that with divorce at such a high rate the "sanctity" of marriage has already been dissolved.\n\nIn the constitution it says every man has rights and freedoms... our freedom to marry whomever we choose and our right to do is not present.  It really feels like the government is going against it's own rights for thier own personal, conservative beliefs.  How, in a "free" country, can a government tell certain citizens "We won't give you the opportunity to get married"?  Isn't that grounds for discrimination?  Ask any older black person how the term "seperate but equal" works...\n\nIf one man has been with another for decades and one dies the other has no right to the estate.  How would that make you feel when you not only are morning the loss of lover but will now lose your house because you weren't married?  Gays also have no say in keeping thier partner on life support or not for the same reason.  \n\nIf a gay couple also wants to adopt a child it is also harder.  For the amount of neglected, hungry, and orphaned children in this country, adoption agencies should jump at the chance of anyone wanting to adopt a child.  They do background checks and interviews to see if the place where the child will potentially go is a safe, loving, and healthy environment.  There are agencies that won't even allow a gay person or couple to adopt a child no matter financially stable or loving the household is.\n\nWhat I believe is that since gays are now "coming out of our closets" and standing up for ourselves, is an improvement in society.  When a people can join together and be proud and powerful, that's where the improvement is.  All the gay bashers and hateful people have nothing better to do than try to make life more difficult than life already is.  We have people in this country that are dieing on the street, we have kids with drug problems in middle school, and the thing that they decide to put all thier energy into is stopping same sex marraige?  People with backward beliefs like that are what is slowing down the advancement in our American Society.\n\nThe only way I will change my mind is if marriage is taken away all together.  If straight people will let it go then I will too, because to me marriage is about love and commitment not the involvement of opposite sex organs.\n\nMy name is Christine, I live in NY, I am a bi female and you can quote me on anything and everything I said becuase it needs to be known...
235649
Everyone wants to give the gays everything, special treatment, special facilities, special rights...\n\nWhy don't we all chip in and get them them their own island and they can go live on it?
757066
BRILLIANT!! THANK YOU FOR BRINGING UP THIS POINT!\nExactly right now we are being governed by a minority.  The MAJORITY govern the MINORITY if a majority of people want gay rights then let it be, if they dont then dont let that happen.  That is essentially how the US system of govt is supposed to work.
797377
You should not be criticized.  Everyone has different beliefs.  The problem is that gay rights is a hyper-sensitive issue.  Almost anything you say on gay rights is "politically incorrect".\n\nAs long as you don't participate in anything like the KKK clan for gays, you should not be berated for your beliefs.
1139367
I agree with you!\nOkay I'm gay but that's not important now, I think your attitude is the one that every single straight should have!\nBut I don't see homosexuality as a problem, is just another preference! I like chocolate, she doesn't... I like cats, he doesn't... I like men, he doesn't!\nThat's all ;)
64441
The reason homosexuals should have rights (but most don't anyway) is that there is no reason ASIDE from religious/moral beliefs to condemn them. There is no reasonable state interest in stopping homosexuality.\n\nFor pedophiles, on the other hand, the children they attempt to/actually commit sex acts with are harmed in a very real way. Thus, there is a reasonable state interest, beyond mere morality/religion, in limiting pedophiles' rights. The right of a child to not be violated outweighs that of a pedophile.
1035954
love is love, no matter if the sex is the same.. \nim not a les but i feel that everyone should have a chance in a married life. Gays/les should have the right to get married
470269
Seeing as how church and state are separated, your religious views have nothing to do with the rights of the citizens in the U.S.\n\nYes, gay people should have every right afforded a straight couple.    I have seen many gay couples who love eachother more than some straight couples.  Why shouldn't they have the right to express that love?\n\nIf you have distaste for it...  you don't have to be friends with them, or attend their nuptuals.\n\n\nTo the members of the Christian Right:\n\nWhatever happened to live and let live?\n\nWhatever happened to 'all sins being the same in the eyes of God'?\n\nWhatever happened to 'judge not lest ye be judged'?\n\n\nIt sickens me that you use your religion to judge other people when it clearly state in the Bible that God is the judge, not you.\n\nIsn't your sin of judgement just as bad as their sin?  Doesn't it say that all sins are the same in the eyes of God?  If it doesn't, feel free to let me know.....   and please don't forget the pamphlet asking me if I know where I'm going when I die..
1026628
Special rights? Giving gays the right to marry is a "special right?" Gays are forbidden to participate in marriage, so if anyone has a special right, its straights. \n\nAs things stand now, we can be forbidden to see our loved one in the hospital. We can lose our partners estate when our loved one dies, even if there is a will. We are denied the right to marry and adopt. I could go on all day. \n\nAnd lets dispense with the notion that rights for racial minorities and rights for gays and lesbians are different. Blacks and other racial minorities have many more rights then gays. So if there is anything different between gay rights and racial rights, its that gays have it MUCH WORSE then anyone else when it comes to equality.
1046152
My best friend is gay, and he gets tourmented and bullied, and people who don't even know him shout things at him in the street. He is the most charming, lovely guy I know, and he has been in a committed relationship with his boyfriend for the last ten years! \n\nIf I am with him, and people challenge him, I get so angry. Why should he be denied the right to live his life the way he wants? He's not doing anyone any harm. I always, always stand up to homophobic people. I got beaten up once because I was defending a 'faggot'. \n\nPeople are ignorant and stupid and it makes my blood boil. I will fight homophobia, and anyone be damned who dares challenge me on it!
858335
I don't know what you mean by legalizing gay rights. I think most thinking people want all Americans to have the same rights, period.  Heres a list (not at all comprehensive) of rights that married people have. Gay people cannot get married, and therefore do not have these rights. \n-Filing joint income tax\n-Creating a "family partnership" under federal tax laws, which allows you to split business profits among family members.\n-Exemptions from gift and estate taxes for spousal property.\n-QTIP,QDOT, and marital deduction trusts.\n-Obtaining priority if a conservator needs to be appointed for your spouse. \n-Inheriting a share of your spouse's estate.\n-Receiving social security, medicare, and disability benefits for spouses.\n-Receiving veterans and military benefits for spouses, including those for education and medical insurance.\n-Taking family leave during a spouse's illness.\n-Receiving wages and workers compensation for a deceased spouse.\n-Visiting your spouse in a hospital intensive care unit during restricted visiting hours.\n-Making medical decisions for an incapacitated spouse.\n-Making burial arrangements.\n-Applying for joint adoption, joint foster care, or stepparent adoption.\n-Joint division of property upon divorce.\n-Custody rights, child support.\n-Living in neighborhoods zoned for "families only."\n-Receiving family rates for insurance.\n-Sueing a third person for wrongful death.\n-Claiming the marital communications privilege.\n-Receiving crime-victims recovery benefits.\n\nTrust me...the list goes on.
216518
Gay people do not have fewer rights than straight people.  There are no laws that say gay people cannot do something that a straight person can do.  There are laws that say a man can marry a woman, and any gay person can do those things.  There are laws that say that any married person can have certain privileges and any gay person can choose to marry just like any straight person can choose to marry.  I'm not going to get into whether people are gay by choice, but they have the same legal opportunities as everyone else.  There are no fountains for gay people, no rules that say gay people cannot sit at the lunch counter.  Gay people are allowed to vote.  They can own property.  They can attend public schools.  The only thing they can't do is join the military and say they are gay.  Of course, neither can a straight person.
217556
In my personal opinion:\n\n#1 : Human Rights - even though the world has the Universal Declaration on Human Rights which was ratified by the UN and members of the UN are supposed to uphold these, it seems these basic human rights are continually violated\n\n#2 : Poverty - it's such a shame that in our world today, with all our great technology and know-how, that we still cannot seem to find a way to bridge the large gap between extreme poverty in parts of the world and the extreme rich in other parts (and sometimes the two coexist in the same nation!)\n\n#3 : Energy - our world today uses a lot of energy, unfortunately we haven't invested as much money and time to develop the technologies to advance the ways in which we produce energy (although we are steadily changing). I'll admit that when I learned how a car operates I was very surprised and disappointed...I realized that with all our advancing computer technology, etc, that the car is just one of the many machines that still operates in an early industrial style fashion. Sure we have lots of great gadgets inside the car and the designs have changed, but it still works and runs off of very late 19th century ideas. We should invest more time, money, and technology to advancing this and how we produce energy. It has began, but it is moving slower than the demand. \n\n#4 : Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered, & Intersexed Rights - being gay myself I actually consider these human rights, but since some folks seperate these I thought I'd add them seperately for those that do. I once read "a nation is judged not by how well it takes care of its majority, but in how well it defends, protects, and cares for all its minorities." Most people forget about the basic humanity that is involved when talking about 'rights', especially when talking about gays, lesbians, bisexuals, transgendered, and intersexed people. Somehow those asking for the 'rights' aren't seen as 'people' or even 'human' sometimes and it's ashame that we forget the humanity of this group of people.\n\n#5 : Health & Education - I think it is fundamental that we should not only educate people...especially educate people about their health...but that our world today should be able to provide very good health care for its population...but we can't expect better health for the world's population when we can't even take care of simple things like human rights (which require us to actually see the humanity in everyone), poverty (which again it's easy to dismiss if you fail to see the humanity of the people in it), and energy issues (because most of the great improvements in health care and schools come from technology..technology that takes energy to function and operate, let alone the facilities, vehicles, etc will need energy, too).  \n\nThat's my top 5 of the most pressing issues of concern! Get these things going and the world population would probably be much more content (and since we'd be honoring and recognizing each other's humanity then diplomacy might actually work better, too). There is an old saying I was told once about why in ancient times many societies invested so much in health, education, justice systems, and entertainment...because that makes people happy and happy people don't riot, don't overthrow their governments, don't rebel. I think modern governments should try to remember that (corporations are now starting to take notice of this...as has been reported many times recently about these corporations having health clubs, schools, daycares, entertainment centers, medical facilities, etc all built into or within their business complex..and they have happier employees who then show up for work and have fewer absenses and less turnover...and even greater profits).