zacb wrote:
If you ask me, both sides are really F'ed up. Some conservatives want government to be in bed with them, and same with liberals, plus they want privilege status for gays and lesbians. To me, why can't we just throw out LEGAL marriage, and allow everyone sort out the rest out? And I believe gays should be able to marry, but at the same time, business owners and church should be able to opt out. And honestly, I could give a rip one way or another, and I think we should seriously consider liberalizing some of our sex laws, such as polygamy & age of consent, in addition to allowing gay marriage. But I just have a problem with giving them special status. Hell, if that is the case, why can't I be in a special class, since I am Irish and have aspergers? Both groups have been discriminated against, and deserve compensation. Or what about me being single? Why should married people get special tax breaks? I think it is BS on both sides.
How is anything that's going on giving gay people "special status"?
The two questions being decided right now are basically:
a) can gay people marry? If the answer's yes, then they have the same status as everyone else, there's nothing special about it. If the answer is no, then they have less status as everyone else, and there's nothing "special" about that.
b) if gay people can marry, are they entitled to the same benefits and protections as other married couples? Again if the answer is yes, they have no more special status than anyone else. If the answer is no, then they have less status than everyone else.
Where I do agree with you is that the law and taxes should not apply differently to people who are married versus people who are not. That is what makes no sense here but that is a broader issue that's got no more or less to do with gay people than it has to do with straight people.