I suppose my greatest disappointment is that the Fat Boys only made the one movie.

[twicketface]

As you probably know, the Senate is debating the merits of an amendment to ban gay marriage. I find this to be utterly ridiculous and here's why.

First of all, sexual orientation is not a choice. I didn't choose to be heterosexual any more than a gay person chooses to be homosexual. It may be a lifestyle that you disagree with, but making it illegal won't stop it. All people deserve equality. Plain and simple. Making gay marriage illegal won't mean that there won't be gay people anymore. They'll still fall in love, date, live together, raise children and so forth. An amendment to prevent rights to certain groups of people is a dangerous precedent to set.

Look, I don't drink. But it's not my goal to prevent everyone from drinking just because I don't. Prohibition didn't work at stopping people from consuming alcohol and banning gay marriage won't stop gay people from being together. If you don't like it, don't do it.

Those who point to the Bible and say that it's wrong are justified in doing so, if that's what they believe. But all that should mean is that THEIR church of THEIR denomination doesn't perform gay marriages. The church I go to believes in and performs gay marriages, which is one of the reasons we attend services there. As we (theoretically) live in a country that has a separation between church and state, the government shouldn't be using religious reasons to deny gays (or bisexuals or transgendered for that matter) the right to marry. Marriage licenses are issued by the state, not the church.

Those who think that it will negatively impact the sanctity of marriage need to realize that marriage has very little sanctity left, due to how ridiculously easy it is to get married and get divorced. If you want to increase the chances of successful marriage, get involved with pre-marital counseling in your area. My parents did this for four years, counseling couples before they would get married to make sure they knew what they were getting into and to think about the different challenges it will present. Marie and I went through it as well and we both found it to be beneficial. Marriage is not "dating+", it's a commitment to another person, through thick and thin, forever. FOREVER. And there's nothing to say that two people of the same sex can't have that level of commitment to each other - they've never even been given the chance.

Besides, I find the idea of a man and a ferret getting married to be adorable.

Comments

[leeann-marie.livejournal.com]

Agreed 100%...okay, more like 95%, considering the ferrett bit at the end. :)

I hadn't heard of pre-marital counseling before, but I'm so glad it exists! That's wonderful. I'm totally doing that before I get married.

- ♥ -

[hexkitten.livejournal.com]

The Catholic church requires this (well, among other things) for members to be married in their church. I hear that they bring up really commonplace stuff that seems so obvious, but that might not come up before vows are exchanged. For instance, viewpoints on spending and children (to have, not to have; how they'll be raised) are brought up. Couples can find out whether or not they have the same ideas.

[twicketface.livejournal.com]

Yup. My parents actually counseled a couple who hadn't discussed if they wanted children (she did, he didn't). They didn't get hitched.

[hexkitten.livejournal.com]

Wow. I've heard of people disagreeing on the number of kids to have, but not whether or not to have any. Do you know if that couple just hadn't dated very long? I can't imagine being together for a longer length of time and not having that come up.

[twicketface.livejournal.com]

I know - it was pretty crazy. I don't think they were together for too long, but not like 20 minutes either ;)

[twicketface.livejournal.com]

It was a very worthwhile experience for Marie and me - we got paired up with a married couple and they talked about the changes that came with marriage, kids, having a house, two careers, etc. They weren't experts, but just more sharing what worked for them. It was great.