Come on now. Give me a break. You surely are not going to tell me that you are going to ignore all of the reasoned posts to date and react now only to the words of the few.
Oh, I ignore nothing, which leads to my frustration. I see people begging, yearning for something I have trouble denying them, and yet I see a further agenda I cannot in all honesty support. I only wish you could see it as well.
Because you have apparently done just that, it tells me that religion remains a sore spot for you somehow; i.e. maybe you are not so sure about it yourself (and who could blame you?), and furthermore, sex and sexuality are an area with lots of unresolved feelings (you sort of alluded to that too.)
Religion is not necessarily a sore spot for me, but I am adamant about my freedom to practice it openly. There are quite a few people who would take that freedom away if allowed to do so.
On sexuality, I think you confuse curiosity with insecurity. I am curious about many things, sexuality simply being one of them. Perhaps that is why I a drawn to these types of threads: I cannot fathom homosexuality, and I want to understand how it is someone can. That is not to say I condemn it. There is a huge difference between curiosity and condemnation/acceptance in practice. I am also curious about magnetic anomalies and the Bermuda Triangle; I neither condemn nor accept them either. They simply are, in that respect.
You have shown yourself to be a reasoned man, as well as an emotional and caring one. I would say, just step back for a (figurative) moment and reflect on what is going on here and not react so quickly.
I thank you for the compliment, and for the conversation. I will indeed step back and muse over my position as you request. In return, may I ask you to step back as well, and look at your fight with a critical eye? I will never suggest you give it up, but there is sometimes more than one way to accomplish an end.
This issue does not exist in a vacuum. Look, I pray you, into the future with the past as a guide and see what lurks there before you undertake a path. From what I see, this cannot end well for anyone.
This fight is not about you. It is not about religion. It is about the ability of gay couples to enjoy the fruits of marriage if they so choose.
I respectfully disagree. As an American, every challenge to the law of the land, especially if, as in this case, the US Constitution is involved, concerns me. This is my country, and that is my Constitution.
If, as you claim, religion has no place to play in this issue, then I suggest those who would make it such be silenced by their peers. It means nothing to you, but it does to them, and they are in this fight as well. the declaration of marriage as a Constitutional and civil right means the US government can enforce when, where, and who will be allowed to get married and by whom, possibly even if that ceremony is to take place in a church.
TheRedneck
') 
... 
Such is characteristic of the way of things I guess... Sucks. I hope at least some ATS members take note that you
participated in some protests that were peaceful. 
