-- Kudos to those of you who pointed out the fear factor. That's undoubtedly a major issue, and whether they are "right" to be fearful of this sort of change in society is another issue entirely.
-- Beliefs. I'm not so sure that religion deserves such a bad rap... I've known, and heard about, many deeply religious people who are accepting and supportive of gay rights; indeed, of rights for all people. Institutional religion, of course, is another kettle of fish. There are also many non-religious people on both sides of the controversy.
-- History. As Glance pointed out, we still claim to admire Greek culture and philosophy; what happened to their social views? Homosexuality also seems to have been accepted to a greater or lesser extent in some military and in many artistic circles.
-- Marriage. Has rarely had anything to do with love over the centuries. As several of you mentioned, it was all about alliances, property rights, blood lines. Love who you please, but marry who you're supposed to! That has also changed ('though not everywhere, and not entirely), and left its legacy. "Nurturing" the kids, is, I think, a fairly recent concept.
I'm sorry that the topic seemed to trigger some difficulties, and I hope they'll fade quickly since we are "safe among friends" here. Some of you dug quite deeply to express your thoughts and feelings, for which I thank you.
And now, to cut to the chase, I'm giving this one to Womble, for his lucid explanation of how it all boils down to democracy in action. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/biggrin.gif" alt="" />
