Hm, my definition of marriage is mainly of a social point of view - therefore I fail to see a threat. And about religious thoughts about this kind of marriage => isn't religion simply another social way to determine ways of how society should function? And should be "patched" or "updated" as society has changed in the last 2000 yrs?
About being "unnatural" => air condition, medicine, plastic material, in-vitro etc => are they natural? Nope. Should they be discarded and we should persist to live in caves, to be natural?
What about divorce? What about patchwork families? 2nd/3rd marriages are allowed - they then enjoy the law protection of matrimony, so why not for homosexual marriages? What about infertile people? Wouldn't it be logical to forbid them to marry then? As they don't fulfill this...
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"for the fact that perpetuating humanity has always been the union of man & woman. same sex unions are frowned upon most probably because it's unfruitful (that is in the eyes of religions, not able to bear children)"
Oh, yes - and whilst we're at it, why not forbid marriages between people who have reached a certain age and are not fruitful anymore? Or forbid those to marry who don't want kids?
See? There is a large inconsistency and hypocrisy in the way who is allowed to marry and who not.
My theory is still this => marriage is a social bond - biological production says nothing about the ability to fulfill the social role of a mother and a father. Yes, even here I consider the social role pretty high.
I have friendships to lesbian and homosexual couples. And the way the lesbians Moms take care of "their" kids, regardless of biological "past" or not => they fulfill their social roles. Both share care, responsibility and education - but what if one of them dies? What will happen to the kid of the dead mother? It will lose its other one <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/puppyeyes.gif" alt="" /> (if they wouldn't live in Germany. Even here, the rights of homosexual marriages is not equal to hetero marriages). The homosexual couple I know very well => they share everything! What will happen if one of them dies? What about their mutual possessions? What if one turns disabled - what about the pension then?
These people HAVE a bond! They care deeply for one another - why should the law (whatever, religion or state) butt in? Kiya
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same sort of thing for kids with a gay couple as 'parents'. the other kids tease them, and they can feel confused about where they're supposed to fit in. if they're in San Francisco maybe they're Ok. many other places they're gunna hit trouble and attitudes.
Hm, weren't kids teased if their parents are divorced? In the sense of => you don't have proper parents? What about adopted kids? Teased as well? If so => should this be a reason for a terribly unhappy couple to stick together, so their kids are not teased? Should no child be adopted then? I hope not <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/puppyeyes.gif" alt="" /> - I think, kids of a same-gender family can learn this very early => individuality counts, not gender role. Our society has changed - a society is like a mirror (sometimes with a sort of time lag <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> ) - let's allow the mirror to show a new pic.
@Kris => uncomfortable school memories? Hm, what about this... mothers and fathers running riots because their kids' teachers are heterosexual, so their kids are in constant danger of being molested? Get my point? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/winkwink.gif" alt="" /> I myself had lesbian teachers at school (didn't even know that) => and I adored one of them, why? Because she took great trouble in helping me to gain knowledge, so I could qualify for high school. Her lover was one I feared, why? She was a choleric. Their sexual preferences played no role in my attitude towards them. My uncomfortable school memory => a male teacher coming too close. He was wellknown for being a breast grabber. Sexual harrassment against minors was a taboo in the 70es in Germany - we girls silently avoided those teachers instead of screaming and yelling protest. It was a male teacher again who harrassed my female school comrade during a pub visit (he was drunk)
