By obtusegoose, unverified — Wed, 09/02/2009 - 18:42
Mr. Mutty claims that no one has the "right" to marry. Yet, oddly enough, he actually DOES have the "regulated authorization" to marry someone of the opposite sex. Is that how he expects people to describe marriage now? What utter nonsense. Of course people have the "right to marry". To say otherwise is disingenuous.
He is so desperate to come up with reasons to deny gay couples marriage equality that he conveniently throws millions of single parents under the bus. According to him, marriage is primarily about a mother and father raising a child. Perhaps those single parents ought to give their children over to an adoption agency? They need to "thrive" with a mother and father. Right, Mr. Mutty? Apparently, falling in love and making a lifelong commitment didn't make his "marriage" qualification list, since two people of the same gender are capable of this task. He also doesn't mention that neither "children" nor "religious beliefs" are a requirement to getting married. I'm also curious why he didn't discuss the 50% divorce rate, and why he doesn't he have an issue with heterosexuals that make a mockery of marriage by getting married over and over again? If marriage is so sacred to Mr. Mutty, why isn't he advocating a ban on divorce? The Bible clearly says that divorce is not permitted: Mark 10:8, Mark 10:9, Mark 10:11-12. I guess some Bible passages, or traditions if you will, aren't that relevant in 2009... except for those that condemn homosexuals of course.
He says, "...the idea of same-sex marriage was utterly alien until a very, very short time ago." That's true. But the same can be said of interracial marriage. For thousands of years the idea of interracial marriages were "utterly alien". What changed this TRADITION that was ROOTED IN HISTORY? The enlightenment of society. In other words, social progress. So, yes, there IS a valid comparison to be made; whether Mr. Mutty wants there to be one or not. History and tradition fought against interracial marriage until 60 years ago. The Supreme Court legalized it, even though 70% of the citizens were against it. Sound familiar? The citizens of this country were given the "right" to marry someone of a different race if they so desired. How did this effect those that did not want to make use of this "right"? It didn't effect them at all. The same can be said for same-sex marriage. It will not prevent or dissuade men and women from getting married and having children. One has NOTHING to do with the other.
Which brings me to my final point. The idea that traditions never change is ludicrous. Slavery was a tradition. Women not having the right to vote was a tradition. Forced childhood labor was a tradition. The list goes on and on. Traditions change over time. Mr. Mutty knows this simple fact, but just doesn't want to accept it. -- As for what President Obama thinks? Whoever said he was the last word on civil rights? Prior to running for president, he was on-record as supporting gay marriage. His current revised position stating that "God is in the mix." is just a 'bone' he tossed out to pacify the religious folk. As a lawyer, he obviously knows that a belief in God, or a church's blessing are not a requirement to getting married. He does support civil unions, which will quickly lead to full marriage equality.
Mr. Mutty claims that no one
Mr. Mutty claims that no one has the "right" to marry. Yet, oddly enough, he actually DOES have the "regulated authorization" to marry someone of the opposite sex. Is that how he expects people to describe marriage now? What utter nonsense. Of course people have the "right to marry". To say otherwise is disingenuous.
He is so desperate to come up with reasons to deny gay couples marriage equality that he conveniently throws millions of single parents under the bus. According to him, marriage is primarily about a mother and father raising a child. Perhaps those single parents ought to give their children over to an adoption agency? They need to "thrive" with a mother and father. Right, Mr. Mutty? Apparently, falling in love and making a lifelong commitment didn't make his "marriage" qualification list, since two people of the same gender are capable of this task. He also doesn't mention that neither "children" nor "religious beliefs" are a requirement to getting married. I'm also curious why he didn't discuss the 50% divorce rate, and why he doesn't he have an issue with heterosexuals that make a mockery of marriage by getting married over and over again? If marriage is so sacred to Mr. Mutty, why isn't he advocating a ban on divorce? The Bible clearly says that divorce is not permitted: Mark 10:8, Mark 10:9, Mark 10:11-12. I guess some Bible passages, or traditions if you will, aren't that relevant in 2009... except for those that condemn homosexuals of course.
He says, "...the idea of same-sex marriage was utterly alien until a very, very short time ago." That's true. But the same can be said of interracial marriage. For thousands of years the idea of interracial marriages were "utterly alien". What changed this TRADITION that was ROOTED IN HISTORY? The enlightenment of society. In other words, social progress. So, yes, there IS a valid comparison to be made; whether Mr. Mutty wants there to be one or not. History and tradition fought against interracial marriage until 60 years ago. The Supreme Court legalized it, even though 70% of the citizens were against it. Sound familiar? The citizens of this country were given the "right" to marry someone of a different race if they so desired. How did this effect those that did not want to make use of this "right"? It didn't effect them at all. The same can be said for same-sex marriage. It will not prevent or dissuade men and women from getting married and having children. One has NOTHING to do with the other.
Which brings me to my final point. The idea that traditions never change is ludicrous. Slavery was a tradition. Women not having the right to vote was a tradition. Forced childhood labor was a tradition. The list goes on and on. Traditions change over time. Mr. Mutty knows this simple fact, but just doesn't want to accept it. -- As for what President Obama thinks? Whoever said he was the last word on civil rights? Prior to running for president, he was on-record as supporting gay marriage. His current revised position stating that "God is in the mix." is just a 'bone' he tossed out to pacify the religious folk. As a lawyer, he obviously knows that a belief in God, or a church's blessing are not a requirement to getting married. He does support civil unions, which will quickly lead to full marriage equality.