(1) Same-sex marriage is a fundamental civil right, irrespective of how others wish to be thought of with respect to the rights of everyone, or how I wish to be thought of with respect to me liking pistachio ice cream.
(2) Marriage has been determined as a fundamental civil right by the US Supreme Court in overturning all bans against interracial marriages in their ruling on Loving v. Virginia, to which with that decision interracial couples were given the right to legally marry each other for the first time in the United States.
(3) Our US Constitution and most if not all state constitutions have a declaration of rights which include the equal and sometimes inalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Marriage is considered a significant means towards fully realizing life, liberty and pursuing happiness. The California Supreme Court has determined same-sex marriage to be a fundamental civil right closely tied to the fundamental right to liberty.
(3) Same-sex marriages may be novel, but then again, there are many rights that were novel at one point in time. Interracial marriages were once novel. The right of women to vote was once novel. Freedom for African-Americans was once novel. Same-sex marriages being novel today is the result of our country recently gaining a better understanding of what it means to be LGBT, as professional organizations almost unanimously if not unanimously do not consider homosexuality as a disorder, and as tens of thousands of LGBT couples lead lives that can not be told apart from straight marriages. A society has to be carefully taught to invoke prejudice and discrimination against a group of people, and ignorance is invaluable towards achieving such ends. With greater understanding of things comes general evolution.
(4) Marriage is about the coming together of two consenting adults who love and commit to each other in a sacred life-lasting bond. Family is about raising children in a loving and nurturing household. Marriage and family are two very related concepts, but they are separate words with specific and unique meanings.
(5) Studies have shown that children of LGBT parents are as good and well-adjusted as children of straight parents. Extending marriage rights to LGBT people ensures that all families, and not just most families, are strengthened within our communities.
(6) Children need love, nurturing and direction from their parents, and gender does not discriminate on the parent's ability to provide for their children. For those children whose gender is dissimilar from their parents, in most cases there are relatives with the same gender who could function as gender role-models for the children, and in addition, there are organizations such as Big Brother Big Sister to provide similar role-models and guidance.
(7) Treating people with dignity and respect should never be compromised by distorted, limited, prejudiced and ignorant views of the institution of marriage. The virtues of dignity and respect are among the highest virtues that every society should strive to embody and exemplify.
(8) A recent poll shows that a majority of Mainers accept same-sex marriage, which reflects on the passage of the Maine Marriage Equality Bill.
(9) Saying that we need to preserve the opportunity of children to know and be raised by their own mother and father is suggesting that one sexual orientation is superior to another and therefore should be the basis towards rendering corresponding inequality within our society. If children deserve to have a mother and a father, then make sure that the mother or father doesn't unexpectedly die during the children's childhoods, or make sure that the parents are not stricken by such poverty that they have to give up their children for adoption, or make sure that the parents are being responsible in engaging in sexual activities, or make sure that the parents can not legally divorce from each other when/if their relationships reach an impasse during their children's childhoods. As you can see, the world is not a perfect place, and our society benefits from same-sex couples that provide loving and nurturing homes for orphans who need homes.
(10) It takes an awful lot of daring to say that someone like me who believes that same-sex marriage is a civil right is disrespecting others' right to vote or to practice their religious faith, and it shows a glaring ignorance towards our very government of the United States.
(10a) Our government is a federal constitutional republic, not a pure democracy, and that means that while citizens have the right to vote, our US Constitutions and state constitutions serve as the supreme law of our land, and the US constitution can only be amended by two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Congress (or constitutional convention) and then ratified by three-fourths of the states. Otherwise, laws that are passed must conform to our constitutions, or they will be considered as unconstitutional through court challenges. Again, our US Constitution and most if not all state constitutions have a declaration of rights which include the equal and sometimes inalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. No passed law or measure can infringe on these basic rights, no matter the result of public votes.
(10b) Legalizing same-sex marriage has no effect on our right to freedom of religion and religious beliefs. The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that our government can not adopt any religion. Therefore, as marriage is determined as a civil right by the US Government, the legal right of marriage can not be associated to any religion practiced in our country and is therefore viewed as a social, civil, non-religious marriage. The Maine Marriage Equality Bill is titled to include the words "Affirms Religious Freedoms", and the bill lists a number of religious activities protected by the 1st amendment with respect to same-sex marriages. To me, that is our government clearly being respectful to the people's various religious beliefs with respect to same-sex marriages.
SFNative's Comments
My ten thoughts about this
My ten thoughts about this article:
(1) Same-sex marriage is a fundamental civil right, irrespective of how others wish to be thought of with respect to the rights of everyone, or how I wish to be thought of with respect to me liking pistachio ice cream.
(2) Marriage has been determined as a fundamental civil right by the US Supreme Court in overturning all bans against interracial marriages in their ruling on Loving v. Virginia, to which with that decision interracial couples were given the right to legally marry each other for the first time in the United States.
(3) Our US Constitution and most if not all state constitutions have a declaration of rights which include the equal and sometimes inalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. Marriage is considered a significant means towards fully realizing life, liberty and pursuing happiness. The California Supreme Court has determined same-sex marriage to be a fundamental civil right closely tied to the fundamental right to liberty.
(3) Same-sex marriages may be novel, but then again, there are many rights that were novel at one point in time. Interracial marriages were once novel. The right of women to vote was once novel. Freedom for African-Americans was once novel. Same-sex marriages being novel today is the result of our country recently gaining a better understanding of what it means to be LGBT, as professional organizations almost unanimously if not unanimously do not consider homosexuality as a disorder, and as tens of thousands of LGBT couples lead lives that can not be told apart from straight marriages. A society has to be carefully taught to invoke prejudice and discrimination against a group of people, and ignorance is invaluable towards achieving such ends. With greater understanding of things comes general evolution.
(4) Marriage is about the coming together of two consenting adults who love and commit to each other in a sacred life-lasting bond. Family is about raising children in a loving and nurturing household. Marriage and family are two very related concepts, but they are separate words with specific and unique meanings.
(5) Studies have shown that children of LGBT parents are as good and well-adjusted as children of straight parents. Extending marriage rights to LGBT people ensures that all families, and not just most families, are strengthened within our communities.
(6) Children need love, nurturing and direction from their parents, and gender does not discriminate on the parent's ability to provide for their children. For those children whose gender is dissimilar from their parents, in most cases there are relatives with the same gender who could function as gender role-models for the children, and in addition, there are organizations such as Big Brother Big Sister to provide similar role-models and guidance.
(7) Treating people with dignity and respect should never be compromised by distorted, limited, prejudiced and ignorant views of the institution of marriage. The virtues of dignity and respect are among the highest virtues that every society should strive to embody and exemplify.
(8) A recent poll shows that a majority of Mainers accept same-sex marriage, which reflects on the passage of the Maine Marriage Equality Bill.
(9) Saying that we need to preserve the opportunity of children to know and be raised by their own mother and father is suggesting that one sexual orientation is superior to another and therefore should be the basis towards rendering corresponding inequality within our society. If children deserve to have a mother and a father, then make sure that the mother or father doesn't unexpectedly die during the children's childhoods, or make sure that the parents are not stricken by such poverty that they have to give up their children for adoption, or make sure that the parents are being responsible in engaging in sexual activities, or make sure that the parents can not legally divorce from each other when/if their relationships reach an impasse during their children's childhoods. As you can see, the world is not a perfect place, and our society benefits from same-sex couples that provide loving and nurturing homes for orphans who need homes.
(10) It takes an awful lot of daring to say that someone like me who believes that same-sex marriage is a civil right is disrespecting others' right to vote or to practice their religious faith, and it shows a glaring ignorance towards our very government of the United States.
(10a) Our government is a federal constitutional republic, not a pure democracy, and that means that while citizens have the right to vote, our US Constitutions and state constitutions serve as the supreme law of our land, and the US constitution can only be amended by two-thirds majority vote in both houses of Congress (or constitutional convention) and then ratified by three-fourths of the states. Otherwise, laws that are passed must conform to our constitutions, or they will be considered as unconstitutional through court challenges. Again, our US Constitution and most if not all state constitutions have a declaration of rights which include the equal and sometimes inalienable rights to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness. No passed law or measure can infringe on these basic rights, no matter the result of public votes.
(10b) Legalizing same-sex marriage has no effect on our right to freedom of religion and religious beliefs. The first amendment to the U.S. Constitution states that our government can not adopt any religion. Therefore, as marriage is determined as a civil right by the US Government, the legal right of marriage can not be associated to any religion practiced in our country and is therefore viewed as a social, civil, non-religious marriage. The Maine Marriage Equality Bill is titled to include the words "Affirms Religious Freedoms", and the bill lists a number of religious activities protected by the 1st amendment with respect to same-sex marriages. To me, that is our government clearly being respectful to the people's various religious beliefs with respect to same-sex marriages.