For the first time in Gallup's tracking of the issue, a majority (53%) favor legal gay marriage.
http://www.gallup.com/poll/147662/First-Time-Majority-Americans-Favor-Legal-Gay-Marriage.aspx
Majority of Americans Favor Legal Gay Marriage
by leavingwt 11 Replies latest members politics
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leavingwt
What are some of the factors that have contributed to this change, in your opinion?
I think some of it is generational, with younger people lacking the prejudice that previous generations had. I also wonder if popular entertainment has contributed to a more positive view of gay marriage. What are your thoughts?
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DesirousOfChange
Younger people have had gay friends at school or in the workplace and have come to realize that they really are OK "normal" people too.
Besides, why shouldn't gay people have to pay $40,000, lose 1/2 of the 401K, pay alimony, and go through HELL to get a divorce when they want to leave some bitch to whom they made a lifetime committment in their young foolish ignorance???
Us straight people do!
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talesin
Both of the above, and it's helping to make for changes in religious tolerance, for example
2005-FEB-01: The United Church of Canada, Canada's largest Protestant denomination, congratulated the government of Canada on its proposed same-sex marriage (SSM) law which the Church called a "win-win solution in the same-sex marriage debate." Rev. Dr. Jim Sinclair, General Secretary of the General Council, said: "Marriage will be enhanced, not diminished, religious freedom will be protected, not threatened, and Canadian society will be strengthened, not weakened, as a result of this legislation."
That was more than six years ago, and it accurately reflects how the majority of Canadians feel.
I saw another topic yesterday, I believe, about a major US denomination that has made a similar decision (in that it's supportive of the gay community, not sure of the details).
Early on his career, the late, great Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau,
'There's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation'
Broadcast Date: Dec. 21, 1967
A young, charismatic Pierre Trudeau, acting as Justice Minister, has introduced his controversial Omnibus bill in the House of Commons. The bill calls for massive changes to the Criminal Code of Canada. Trudeau makes an appeal for the decriminalization of 'homosexual acts' performed in private, telling reporters in this CBC Television clip "there's no place for the state in the bedrooms of the nation." Trudeau goes on to say "what's done in private between adults doesn't concern the Criminal Code."
Forward thinkers have been supporting the gay rights movement for decades, and change has been a long time coming. It's exciting to me, to see human rights advance in our own society (as in, we're cleaning up our own backyard for a change).
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White Dove
Oh yes, I agree. This is a great step forward.
My kids are much more open to respect of others' differences and not nosing in where they shouldn't, unlike me and my sister of a generation before.
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chickpea
marriage equality is one more advance in the quest
for civil rights and full citizenship for a marginalized
population.... i think it is accurate to say that the
"normalization" through familiarity is a huge part
of the forward movement.... if you know someone
who is left handed, you have the same statistical
probability of also knowing someone who is not
heterosexual.... -
moshe
There is a financial cost to do this. Social Security spousal benefits for same sex couples would have to be paid for somehow- from a trust fund that is already strained.
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Scully
I don't know which comedian said it, but I think they're right...
"I think gays should be legally entitled to get married. Why shouldn't they have the right to be as miserable as straight people?"
I can definitely see a new niche opening up among legal professionals - divorce attorneys for same sex couples.
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JonathanH
It's sad that an angry vociferous religious minority are able to dictate the civil rights of the country when most of the country disagrees with their bigoted views. I hope the US joins the 21st century soon.