Southern Baptists - 'Same Sex Marriage is Not a Civil Rights Issue'

reply to post by defcon5

Originally posted by defcon5
They have equal treatment under law;

No, they don't. They SHOULD, but they don't. In most states, they are being denied equal treatment under the law as regards marriage and adoption.

however, they are not granted any special protections under law as a protected class from discrimination.

I'm not saying they are granted "special protections" as a "protected class". I'm saying that, according to the 14th Amendment, as citizens, they are entitled to all the same rights and protections are we all are. And those are being denied by the states.

By the way, being gay is beyond one's ability to control. Whether you accept that fact or not is your choice.

The reason there are discrimination laws that allow discrimination for work purposes is that the laws are changing. We are in the middle of another civil rights era and the people fighting for their rights are gay. There are also people desperately fighting against them to prevent them from enjoying the same rights as we all have, because they're closed-minded bigots. But the law is changing. As each state first allows civil unions and then allows marriage equality, gay people getting married will become as commonplace as interracial marriage (which was also once disallowed. - Heck there was a time blacks weren't allowed to marry each other). Saying "that's the way the law is" is a cop out. The laws need to change. Forget protected classes! When we start treating every citizen equally, there will be no need for protected classes!

I look forward to the time when this is no longer a discussion topic on this board.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
reply to post by defcon5

 

I look forward to the time when this is no longer a discussion topic on this board.

That one got me. I truly hope our society will come to realize that things such as this should have no bearing at all. Whether homosexual, interracial or whatever description you can create to segregate the people, I hope we live to see the day it all disappears, and labels are forgotten entirely. A day when we're just people united for a greater good.

Originally posted by defcon5
They have equal treatment under law;

The law says heterosexual people can get married.
The law says homosexual people can not.
How is this 'equal treatment'?
Please explain it to me. Thanks.

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
No, they don't. They SHOULD, but they don't. In most states, they are being denied equal treatment under the law as regards marriage and adoption.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
The law says heterosexual people can get married.
The law says homosexual people can not.
How is this 'equal treatment'?

Please explain it to me. Thanks.

Originally posted by defcon5

Originally posted by Benevolent Heretic
By the way, being gay is beyond one's ability to control. Whether you accept that fact or not is your choice.

That is your opinion, its not been proven one way or the other, hence the fact its an ongoing argument.

The DSM-IV (the 'bible' of psychology) has removed homosexuality as a mental disorder.
Homosexuality is found all through the animal kingdom. 1-2% of the population is homosexual.
Of course both gay and straight people can 'control themselves' and not be sexually active at all.
But why should one group have to remain celebate and the other not? How is this equal rights?

All Psych Journal
The debate about if someone is homosexual from birth or if it is a learned behavior is still debated between sociologists, biologists, and psychologists. There have been found physiological differences in the brains of 'straight' people from 'gay' people when autopsied. This is not definitive .. but it is evidence that at least a good portion of homosexual people are born that way.

D.F. Swaab conducted the next noteworthy experiment in 1990. This experiment became the first to document a physiological difference in the anatomical structure of a gay man's brain. Swaab found in his post-mortem examination of homosexual males' brains that a portion of the hypothalamus of the brain was structurally different than a heterosexual brain. The hypothalamus is the portion of the human brain directly related to sexual drive and function. In the homosexual brains examined, a small portion of the hypothalamus, termed the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), was found to be twice the size of its heterosexual counterpart [2].

At the same time, another scientist, Laura S. Allen made a similar discovery in the hypothalamus as well. She found that the anterior commissure (AC) of the hypothalamus was also significantly larger in the homosexual subjects than that of the heterosexuals [2]. Both Swaab's and Allen's results became a standing ground for the biological argument on homosexuality. The very fact that the AC and the SCN are not involved in the regulation of sexual behavior makes it highly unlikely that the size differences results from differences in sexual behavior. Rather the size differences came prenatally during sexual differentiation. The size and shape of the human brain is determined biologically and is impacted minutely, if at all by behavior of any kind.

Side note - The US Dept of Defense lists homosexuality as a mental disorder - in opposition to what the Psychiatric society says.

reply to post by FlyersFan

Originally posted by defcon5
Sure they can get married in accordance with the laws of their individual states,

And note how the laws are different for the two groups according to their sexual orientation.
'Straight people' can get married to whom they wish.
'Homosexual people' can not get married to whom they wish.
The law itself discriminates against citizens
It treats citizens differently based on sexual orientation.
Time to change the laws.

Originally posted by defcon5
I'm not getting your point,

I'm sure I"m not expressing myself well. I"m tired today ...
Let's see if I can put it out point by point ...
- Heterosexuals can marry whom they wish. Homosexuals can not. This is not equality.
- The law says 'they can help it'. this is obviously wrong. the law needs rewriting.

(in the previous link I gave, autopsies have shown that the brains of gay men are different than the brains of straight men. There is evidence of a physical difference. And even if there weren't ... so what? If a person is gay then a person is gay. However they got there, that's what they are. Marriage is a civil right and they deserve equal civil rights.)

the law says its a choice.

which is why it's time to change the law. people don't choose same sex attraction.
It just works that way .. either by nature or by nurture. Either way ... it's there and
it's not something that can be controlled anymore than a heterosexual person can
control who they are attracted to.

Hey, I don't write laws, I simply explain how they work..

I hear ya. I know that.

ETA - my degree is psychology .. not law .. so I naturally go in that direction first during a discussion.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
'Straight people' can get married to whom they wish.

Originally posted by FlyersFan
And note how the laws are different for the two groups according to their sexual orientation.
'Straight people' can get married to whom they wish.
'Homosexual people' can not get married to whom they wish.

And not only are they denied to marry the consenting adult of their choice, they are denied to participate in a contract with the state that affords over 1000 FEDERAL rights and benefits. This is why states laws against marriage equality are discriminatory of a FEDERAL level.

reply to post by defcon5


You can't marry your first cousin. That apples to straights and gays equally.
The part that's NOT equal is to marry the consenting adult of one's choice.

Originally posted by defcon5

Originally posted by FlyersFan
'Straight people' can get married to whom they wish.

The following is my opinion as a member participating in this discussion.

Did you not read what I posted, even straight people have restrictions on whom they can marry.
You cannot marry your first cousin for example ...

Yes .. I saw that. But you know what I mean. Two consenting NON RELATED adults who are straight can get married. Two consenting NON RELATED adults who are homosexual can not. It's not equal. extra DIV