What do they mean by “diminish traditional marriage or diminish traditional values?”
What values?___more than 50% of us who have married have since been divorced at least once. Some of us have been married 2,3,4,5 times and every one ended in divorce. Can anyone explain what is sacred or of high value in this current system where we all just walk away when we disagree and they end marriages faster than my granny can eat a Big Mac.

Carolann, I think you summed this up beautifully! I could not agree with you more and anyone who uses their faith as a vehicle for hatred and intolerance should be ashamed of themselves. What God would ever want his people hurting others in His name? Certainly not the one I know. I truly believe that when my son is grown, he will look back at this time and wonder how our country ever banned gay marriage, much as we look back on the civil rights movement the same way. How did we ever live in a world of such hatred and intolerance? I look forward to that day.

Just because someone calls themselves a Christian, does not make it so. If you cannot follow Christianity, then you are not a Christian. There are millions of people who "claim" to be Christian, but choose the parts of Christianity that they want to obey. When you meet your maker, you can explain to to him, why you felt "God-like" enough to determine which parts of his word you chose to accept and which ones' you felt he was "wrong" about. God specifically states homosexuality is an abomination. You can explain to him why he is wrong when you meet him. Just because one goes to mass and treats others nicely, does not make one a Christian. It is the harder part of Christianity, the obeying Gods word, that the weak have trouble with. Taking religion out of it, I know atheist's who do not believe in gay marriage. They are children of darwin's theory of evolutiion and even in darwin's theory, gays would not be part of natural selection, since they cannot reproduce, their type would die out and become extinct, so even without God, homosexuality is not natural. As far as your comments about vile statements coming from Christians, there is no other group more vile and intolerant of others than the homosexual community. Look at some of their protests, spitting on people, desecrating religious items, disrupting mass in the middle of religious services, they are disgusting. You say you are a Christian, but you have the arrogance to believe that God is wrong on this one.

To the commenter above:
So what that God says homosexuality is an abomination? What does that have to do with gay marriage? You should be able to disagree morally/religiously with homosexuality (as a sin in YOUR eyes) but not discriminate against another human being. "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

To author: Did someone really email you "a pox on you and your house"? LOL So ridiculous!!

How can anyone with a brain say that homosexuality is unnatural when there are people on this planet who are homosexual? By definition, this is natural. It may not be "common" but it's natural. And if it's natural, isn't that part of the deity's design?

For my part, I've written to my state representatives supporting the right for all people to marry. Amy Handlin wrote me back with a non-committal response which I interpret as a "I don't support gay marriage." So, write to your representatives! They need to hear from you!

I would like to state (sic) a point of view that more or less makes your question - and this topic - moot.

I don't believe there is any place for government to be performing marriages whatsoever. Period. No Justice of the Peace. No mayors tying knots.

There is a separation of church and state, and marriage is the spiritual or emotional component of a serious relationship that includes sexual activity. Long ago, most jurisdictions removed statutes that outlawed sexual practices that we deem victimless. Since then, who cares what goes on behind closed doors of consenting adults?

Where government DOES play a role is also "stare deciso" - civil unions. Civil unions were meant to remove the legal obstacles of insurance coverage, inheritance and the like - things that are generally in the realm of rights and probate. That's done.

So, not only should homosexuals not be able to get a state sponsored marriage, ALL PEOPLE shouldn't.

And all people who wish to convene a civil union should have equal rights thereto - JUST LIKE NOW.

Whether you're a homosexual or not, getting married is a matter for the churches, congregations and other support communities. If you're homosexual and you want to get married, seek out some spiritual advisor - even an atheist one. If you're homosexual and Catholic, vote with your feet and join another church. If you're atheist or non-religious, JUST HAVE A PARTY.

Meanwhile, make sure you get that civil union as well!

Why not let them marry and that way they could become full citizens and divorce at the same rate as heterosexuals! Not that's equality! It would also benefit the underemployed lawyers who are always looking for new areas to branch into, thus creating a niche specialty, with higher fees! Also the best man gets to toast the groom(s) twice, instead of the traditional once, giving him 2, not 1, chances of making a jackass of himself! Only one condition with gay marriage; only men can marry men and women women! I know this will create controversy and the ACLU is already trying to figure out how to handle it, but you gotta draw a line in the sand at some point!

I don't believe in God and yet I get to be married. I guess according to Gavino though I should have just had a party because my marriage is a fallacy given to me by the state. This is exactly why I will never believe in religion, at least not any of the ones I've encountered thus far....people constantly use it as a reason to hate other people. "but the bible says I shouldn't like______" fill in the blank. I would never even have a problem with religious people if they didn't want to spend most of their time persecuting others for not being the same as they are. Gay marriage for some, mini american flags for others.

Ok, aspin, calm down - there is no connective tissue between your 2nd and 3rd statement. All I said was the state should not be in the marriage business. It's irrelevant. The state issues licenses, agreements for business purposes. That's a civil union. You're covered!

Now, if for some reason you wanna call it marriage, great! In fact, why not call civil unions "marriage"? What's in a word? Well, apparently a lot, but what does it matter? Gay people can get a civil union and be totally covered. It's in the law now. Why make a point about pushing to call it marriage? It's already done - in everything but name.

That name has religious roots and history, tho, and that's why some people get bent out of shape. So, who cares what you call it? If you don't believe in god, fine. You're legally covered; the rest is emotional and sexual. Call it a marriage if you want. No skin off my nose.

And if you want to wave it in the face of the bigots, fine - but it's unnecessary from the standpoint of your rights.

Or homosexuals.

last I checked and maybe this has changed but i haven't read anything stating it has:
"Same-sex couples who enter into a civil union are provided almost all of the rights granted to married couples under New Jersey state law. However, under the provisions of the federal Defense of Marriage Act or DOMA, same-sex couples in marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships do not have any right or entitlement to the 1,138 rights that a married couple has under federal law. Areas affected include Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, health insurance, Medicaid, hospital visitation, estate taxes, retirement savings, pensions, family leave, and immigration law."

I understand your desire to for the separation of church and state so I just need to understand why only marriage would give you these benefits that a civil union will not if marriage is just about religion? If we could extend these same federal rights to civil unions, maybe that would be a step in the right direction.

Well, you are apparently right about DOMA and its effects on the federal level - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defense_of_Marriage_Act. But the law includes civil unions as on the same level as marriages. So despite the "equal discrimination under the law", it doesn't really matter that they are marriages or not.

And so I agree, civil unions should be recognized without discrimination due to sexual orientation.

But marriage should be a non-state phenomenono - at any level.

It is hard to realize separation of church and state when our presidents pray before us at Government functions and when testifying in law you are asked to swear on a bible - and when the government puts a Christmas tree - menorah on their front lawn. We should have true separation - not just in theory. I can think of far better uses for the money it costs state/town employees to decorate. dismantle a xmas tree, the cost of the tree/ ornaments and the electricity to run it. I do not want to see my leaders embracing their personal faith - especially if it is different from mine -in a public forum. Let anyone who wants to commit their life to another be married under the law and enjoy the same rights and protections. And there are many people I do not agree with or whose lifestyles I do not like - so what,

You are frustrated because Christians wont accept same sex relations as normal? You think that if we accept something as unnatural and immoral as sex between a man and a man or woman and a woman that it would make your emptiness go away? Your angry and understand frustrated as anyone who opposes God becomes, I wasn't born a Christian I had to choose to accept Jesus and God as my authority. Before I did I was just as frustrated as you are. I pray sincerely you find God and His peace.
a

It is interesting I had to create another account as I couldn't sign in under my other login. Censorship?

Bill

Same sex marriage is a civil rights issue not a church issue, or an issue that should be put on the ballot.

The issue of same sex marriage is a civil rights issue centered on a constitutional protection from discrimination. Fundamentalist yahoos want an amendment to the constitution to bar any hope for legislation that would allow same sex marriage. That sets up a kind of circular logic or lack thereof that makes my head hurt. The words same sex civil unions don't seem to stir the beast of hatred that the the word marriage does. Semantics? It's more than that of course. When two people love one another and are fully committed to having a life together that is recognized and sanctioned by society a mere civil union just isn't enough. Who am I to judge whether another person's level of love and commitment is less than mine? Marriage has been trivialized so much in modern society that it is stunning that there are those who howl in protest that marriage between two same sex, committed, loving persons is somehow going to degrade the institution of marriage. The divorce rate and easy come and go live in relationships stand as evidence that marriage is already struggling. Perhaps the people who are waging this battle to be allowed to marry will value the state of marriage more than has been demonstrated by those who now have easy access to it. If we do bring the Bible into the discussion let's take a look at the New Testament. Christ's teachings focus on love, inclusion and acceptance. Leave the judgements to God. Unless you are without any sin or fault.

If you love the LORD i wil see you in Heaven Carol. There are no fences in heaven..we are all together gay, straight, black, white, yellow, Catholics, Baptists, etc..GOD loves us all the same if we love him back and obey his laws.

How come no more articles? Hellooooo! Where are you?