Beards and Gay Marriage

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If it turns out that statistics on promiscuity, drug use, STDs and suicide among actively gay people change in the coming years, I will reconsider my view on gay sex.
Still this view is predicated on the fact all have behavior issues which is what I’m suggesting. This is the chicken and egg confusion in the approach, which I have to assume is why the updating was done on the DSM in that the debate becomes one of value judgment on heterosexual rather than factual evidence on homosexuality.
 
If it’s wrong, then you shouldn’t claim it.

But I am glad that you’re basing your views on your concern for the well being of gay people. Do you have any figures on the propensity of people leaving gay marriages? And of gay marriages causing suicide?
In all honesty what would it matter. A person who shots up will eventually commit suicide if they don’t quit, but it does not always stop them.

Every gay marriage causes suicide, is suicide not death. Sin is death of the soul.

Concern for gay people, or a drug addict, or addict of any kind of any person in sin, begins with prayer for them, and treating them with respect and love that comes from God.

Accepting sin does no one any favor. Rejecting sin does not change sin, anymore then disagreeing with what sin is.

God wrote the book on sin, not us.

To say that someone can let sin consume their lives and it is okay with God is simply a lie. It not only destroys their lives it destroys the lives of many who love them.

You see God did not say to us, you can decide what is sin and what it not sin. He left us a Church. The Church is the pilar of all truth not personal decisions.

The Bible is indeed the true word of God, rather you accept it to be or not to be changes nothing.

When Jesus was trying to teach and was rejected, he did not say to them you can agree or disagree:shrug:. No.

He said your Father is the Devil:eek: Because if you were from God and of God you would listen to ME. But you are not from me, because you reject me, and my truth.

2 people of the same sex living together and having sex is a abomination to God. He hates it, and it disgusts him. Read the O.T. he leveled the whole town.

You can have any opinion of it you choose, but opinions do not change the truth of God.

If 2 men or women having sex and living together would bring true Love or happiness, God would not forbid it. God knows more then we will ever know, what is and is not good for us.

I have NEVER seen anyone in this world who has lived their life rejecting God and his Love and rules ever achieving true happiness in this world.

Oh I’ve seen them try, and follow the devil and do his works, and I have seen his power also, its always just enough that they eventually destroy themselves with it.

Truth is this, there is no complete happiness in this world, it only comes in the next. Because complete happiness is living with God in his world for eternity. Only the wise can see and accept this. And to achieve this we must obey his word.
 
Amen, conscientious objection we can’t omit this since the Church has served the family thus mankind well for 2000 years. We have to admit we do not know and sticking to the teaching of the Church is a wise choice here.

That said, not everyone attended Bible camp, nor do all believe in the supernatural or the sin theology. We have social-political morality.
 
Are you? If it did turn out that gay people are disproportionately unfaithful in marriages, would this cause you to oppose gay marriage? Why or why not?
It’s gay marriage we’re talking about. You can’t help being gay, so the suicide rate, if it was based on nothing but being gay, is not something that would be likely to change (although we both know that it’s a reflection of most people’s attitude to gays, so we both can do something to help that).

Marriage is another thing. It’s entered into voluntarily.

And oppose gay marriage because some gay people might cheat on their spouse? Look, If they live long and happy lives together then that’s good. If it all goes pear shaped, then tough luck. Let’s hope no kids are involved.

Notwithstanding that the obvious question to anyone who might consider it would be: at what point to you oppose heterosexual marriage if more people decide to cheat? If it’s a greater proportion than gay marriage, do we support one and not the other?

But the point is, which is quite probably the most important one I’ll make in this discussion, or any other, is that someone wanting to commit to another person for the duration of their lives together, has absolutely nothing to do with me at all. Or with you. Or with anyone else.

Surely that can’t be too difficult to grasp…
 
It’s gay marriage we’re talking about. You can’t help being gay, so the suicide rate, if it was based on nothing but being gay, is not something that would be likely to change (although we both know that it’s a reflection of most people’s attitude to gays, so we both can do something to help that).
You can’t help being gay, but you do have control over what romantic/sexual relationships you pursue. (Surely you would agree?) Personally, I don’t think there is any connection between merely being gay and suicide; I expect the connection is either a matter of suicide arising from guilt and shame from homosexual activity, or a “common cause” connection – for example, a boy might be abused by a man, and this might lead to two things: homosexual attractions and suicidal ideations.

Also, if – as you claim, the suicide rate is merely “a reflection of most people’s attitude toward gays”, can you explain to me why suicide rates among gay people haven’t significantly changed over the past 30-40 years, despite radically increased acceptance of homosexuality?
Marriage is another thing. It’s entered into voluntarily.
I actually have never said that I oppose legal gay marriage, in the course of this conversation. I have serious worries about legalizing gay marriage, but I do not have a dogmatic position against it. (I do have a dogmatic opposition to Church recognition of such marriages).
And oppose gay marriage because some gay people might cheat on their spouse? Look, If they live long and happy lives together then that’s good. If it all goes pear shaped, then tough luck. Let’s hope no kids are involved.
Notwithstanding that the obvious question to anyone who might consider it would be: at what point to you oppose heterosexual marriage if more people decide to cheat? If it’s a greater proportion than gay marriage, do we support one and not the other?
Oh, I would be happy to declare 50-80% of heterosexual marriages null and void, on the basis that the parties did not intend faithfulness until death. I don’t treat gay couples different from straight couples. And if a straight couple regularly engages in sodomy, I consider them to be engaged in serious sin.
But the point is, which is quite probably the most important one I’ll make in this discussion, or any other, is that someone wanting to commit to another person for the duration of their lives together, has absolutely nothing to do with me at all. Or with you. Or with anyone else.
You’re absolutely right. People can make whatever sort of lifelong commitments to each other they want, and they can even declare these commitments publicly and live in whatever arrangement they like. The question of gay marriage has nothing to do with that. It has to do with this narrow question: what are the advantages of recognizing gay marriages to be on par with straight marriages, on a purely legal basis?

So far, I’m getting that you think one advantage is that it would make gay people in long-term relationships feel better. I acknowledge that is an advantage. Can you cite any other advantages?
 
An opinion is necessarily an opinion that something is true
If I say, “I think that it is raining outside”, this is stating that it is your opinion that it is in fact raining outside. Just saying “it is raining outside” is no less an opinion, though perhaps it sounds more confident.
All asserted propositions are opinions
The way I have aways seen it is that an assertion of a fact like “it is raining outside” is not an opinion. At least not the way I think of it. This is my definition of opinion=“belief stronger than impression and less strong than positive knowledge, or a generally held view”, but I acknowledge that you may be using a different definition. Also sense we are going over defs, subjective=" based on feelings or opinions rather than facts", facts=“something that truly exists or the truth value is known”.

An opinion could be that a premise is false. Unless you want to say that when I have an opinion that something is false what I really have is premise, about a falsehood, that is true or I believe to be true. I would say that your view on this subject is convoluted, but not completely wrong.

If I just came in from the outside and said “it was raining outside” wouldn’t you say that I am trying to impart knowledge to you. What if I came from outside and said “I think it was raining outside” wouldn’t you ask “what is wrong with you that you do not know wether it is raining since you just came in” or you would assume some sort of sarcastic joke. But in either or any of the cases I presented you would not think I was asserting an opinion about the weather. If you are trying to make a deeper epistemological claim right now fine just tell me but I am assuming that you are not.

An asserted proposition of a fact is not the same as an asserted proposition of a opinion. You can have a opinion about or on that fact but that is a different subject. If I assert that H2O is water (a tautology I know) I am not asserting my opinion that H2O is water, am I?

Just your opinion though is not a objective statement/assertion. There is a huge difference in, to put it in Platonic terms, objective knowledge, subjective knowledge, and opinion. Maybe this will help the way I think of opinions is that their truth values are unknown but you believe them to be true or false.
 
This assumes that you and you alone get to dictate what is called ‘baseball’ despite the rest of society disagreeing with you - furthermore you are not just refusing to call it baseball, you are trying to prevent them from playing at all unless they play your game, by your rules, with who you say.:rolleyes:

If you don’t like their game, don’t play and don’t watch. Trying to stop them playing, or trying to ruin their game by heckling, is just selfish and rude.
Why would they want to play another game and call it baseball?
For example, given that one organ, such as genitals, can serve more than one purpose, how do you conclude that each and every use of those organs must serve that particular purpose?
I don’t accept your given.
 
How is it ‘ordered towards’ pregnancy even if, as you say, it is “impossible for pregnancy to occur” in that case?

In other words how are you not trying to use the impossibility of pregnancy as an absolute bar to gay sex, while simultaneously saying that the impossibility of pregnancy is not an absolute bar to heterosexual sex? Surely this shows that the possibility of pregnancy is just a smokescreen, and that it is homosexual sex that you object to, not sex with no possibility of pregnancy?
Catholics believe the “marital act” is reserved for husband and wife. The marital act is a conjugal union between man and woman; this union occurs even when children don’t result from the union or are not possible.
For that matter why are we talking about sex when the topic was about marriage?
Because we don’t separate sex from marriage, but perhaps you do. :confused:
How is a lesbian couple that go to great effort to ensure that they do concieve less ‘ordered towards’ pregnancy than a heterosexual couple that go to great lengths to ensure that they do not?
An infertile couple can still complete the bodily union between husband and wife – they can become “one flesh” through coitus. This union between two bodies is essential to the conjugal view of marriage – it’s not just about rubbing bodies against one another.
How does loving consensual sex ever not bring a couple closer together?
I’m assuming, then, that you would support any sexual relationship as long as it is consensual?
Which in no way prevents them from expressing love and intimacy.🤷 Even in Catholic dogma a sterile heterosexual couple are allowed to marry and have unitive but non procreative sex.
Certainly you understand that marriage is also more than just expressing love an intimacy – or is that part of your definition as well? Expressions of love, intimacy, and consensual sex can be found in all sorts of relationships. Can you offer a definition of marriage that we, as a society (any society), should value as a marital norm?
 

This assumes that you and you alone get to dictate what is called ‘baseball’ despite the rest of society disagreeing with you - furthermore you are not just refusing to call it baseball, you are trying to prevent them from playing at all unless they play your game, by your rules, with who you say.:rolleyes:

If you don’t like their game, don’t play and don’t watch. Trying to stop them playing, or trying to ruin their game by heckling, is just selfish and rude.
This comment could just as easily come from a traditionalist – why do homosexual activists get to redefine marriage? You are trying to dictate a new rule and weaken the institution. If you don’t like the long-established definition of marriage, don’t play and don’t watch. Trying to redefine the institution, or “ruin the game”, is just selfish and rude.
After all, christians have kicked up a stink about ‘civil unions’ based on their religious views on marriage precisely because that despite their attempt to prevent homosexuals from calling marriage, that is exactly what it is!
But it’s not just Christians, and marriage is not just a “religious view.” The conjugal union between a man and woman sometimes results in children – stabilizing that relationship is good public policy. There’s no policy reason for stabilizing the romantic/platonic relationships between two loving friends.
No, if you and your lover end up literally ‘one flesh’, bonded together as siamese twins, you are doing it wrong.
A man and woman become “one flesh” through coitus; in the context of marriage, this union is known as the “marital act.” Same sex couples cannot create a bodily union in the same way that a man/woman couple can.
Again, this is just using jargon to obscure your lack of an argument. Homosexual couples bond socially and psychologically during sex just as much as heterosexuals.
Certainly – just as a father and his adult daughter might also bond socially and psychologically during consensual sex. Should the state recognize that relationship as well?
 
DrTaffy;12007401:
What? :confused:

What decision?
Why is a homosexual not a homosexual before making this ‘decision’?
How does this rule out a sex-less same-sex marriage?
He is a normal heterosexual until he falls into the homo temptation, and he falls in the temptation by having homosexual sex. There is no purity anymore in his relationship. Or maybe you thought that “sex-less” means no sex on Fridays only?
The moment he completely gives up sex he become again a heterosexual person, homosexuality doesn’t have any sense for him anymore.This is the best recommendation for those that have fallen in this temptation, and is perfectly logical.
So, to be clear, let me paraphrase what I understand you to be saying:

if two men are each only sexually attracted to other men, move in together, consider themselves to be “in love”, get a civil marriage, but never have sex, they are not, in your eyes, ‘homosexual’?

If so, I think we are done here. You just have a really weird definition of ‘homosexual’ that doesn’t match up to any other definition I have ever come across.

So, curious, but there is nothing left of interest to discuss, as far as I see. No?
 
While I’m not going to address the rest of the above, as it smacks of “Methinks he doth protest too much!”, I will say that I do like to tell folks who desperately need to be here that they are treading in dangerous waters.
I’ve noticed. I’m suggesting that you might want to take a good look at that habit! 😉
And it does seem to be quite effective. I’ve already noticed a change. 🙂
Well, if telling yourself that makes you feel you have saved face, go ahead. But:
  • I stand by my assertion of what you said. It may not have been what you meant, but you said it.
  • surely if you feel that I am trying to be more conciliatory, the christian thing to do would be to reciprocate, not gloat about how you think you have ‘scored a point’? For that matter, should a christian not have started the process by trying to be conciliatory, not by issuing threats and then gloating about how they think they have ‘scored a point’
Oh, now don’t change your claim, Dr. Taffy.

You stated that people could read the Bible and know that Joseph and Mary never had sex.
No change. That is what I claimed all along.

Oh, and be careful - there is this really horrid belligerent poster on this thread who goes around threatening to have people banned for misrepresenting other posters’ positions! :eek:
The Bible does state that Mary was a virgin before Jesus was born.

Right here:

[BIBLEDRB]Matthew 1:25[/BIBLEDRB]
Ah, there you go. See, you learnt something new, isn’t that nice?👍

Now, as far as the rest of it goes, do you accept the perpetual virginity of Mary and the validity of Josephite marriages, or do I need to give you some pointers to catholic teaching on that?🙂
 
DrTaffy;12007468:
PRmerger;12004457:
DrTaffy;12003824:
The words mean what they mean. If you are using them to mean something other
than their face value, then that is a clear example of what I mean by you using jargon to obscure rather than elucidate.

Exactly.

Quid pro quo.

… you don’t know what ‘quid pro quo’ means, do you?

Or if you do, please explain how it is relevant in this context! 😃

All I will say is that I know about as much Latin as you do. 🤷
Interesting. How do you come to this conclusion? For example, how much latin do I know? According to you? :rolleyes:

For matter, you have not answered what it is that you think ‘quid pro quo’ means or how it is relevant in this context?
DrTaffy;12007468:
If you could
do that, I would say that it was pretty useful. Weird, gross, and unhygienic, to be sure, and no way would I be borrowing your lithium batteries, but useful.

Of course you can do that.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3533227/
Ookay, a clarification: to me, actually “using your stomach to hold your lithium batteries (so you’ll always have them when you need them!)” would imply that :
  • you could get them back when you wanted them. Otherwise you don’t “always have them when you need them!”
  • neither you nor they suffered any significant physical harm in this process, as you failed to mention anything about this.
No, I wouldn’t. And neither would you.
Sure I would. Given the stipulations above, it has a use, ergo it is ‘useful’.

Ssimples! 😉
It’s an anomalous use of a body party.
Anomalous <> immoral

If I were bitten by a radioactive spider and gained super-powers, that would be useful. Anomalous, yes. Silly, granted, far too silly for anyone to use it as the basis for a series of films even once, let alone more than once. Surely? 😦

But useful.
 
First of all, this point about the brain doesn’t make sense to me. It is true that the brain is where we experience all trauma, but it does not follow that this trauma begins with the brain. If you cut off my arm, I will feel it “in” my brain, but it is my arm that has the problem, not my brain.
But if you suffer psychological trauma, that occurs in the brain. Entirely. The long-term harm shown by studies of child abuse victims is psychological.

This is not a field I’ve ever had the stomach to delve into, but I would imagine that any physical damage to the actual genitalia would heal relatively quickly and be a relatively trivial part of the harm involved. 😊
Let me give a personal example, at the risk of embarrassment. When I was about 11, my older brother, who was going through normal teenage sexual confusion, began to display some behavior that was surreptitiously sexual toward me – not touching, but visual. It had a very deep and confusing effect on me, because it had to do with sex; I think we all know this sort of feeling, which (welcome or unwelcome) often evokes curiosity in children. The confusion and the curiosity – all of it – came because of the sexual/genital nature of the interaction. If it had had nothing to do with the genitals, then there would have been no sexual harm done whatsoever.
Emphasis added. Does that bit not highlight that the problem here was not, in fact, physically the genitalia? but the Mind?

Sure, hormones associated with the sexual glands are important, and the import of the genitalia to the psyche likewise, but it is the brain that is the central player in this tragedy.

Also, commiserations. I hope it turned out OK in the end.
Can you describe to me a case of sexual abuse that does not involve the genitals, either in themselves or represented through words?
A celebrity called Rolf Harris is currently being tried here in the UK. Many of the acts of which he is accused were ‘just’ (if I dare use that word) a hand on a thigh or up a shirt. Not even on the breasts (just how narrowly are we defining ‘genitalia’ here? Do breasts count?)

Again, when you say “either in themselves or represented through words”, I doubt whether I understand in what way you do not actually agree with me that the harm is in the mind? :confused:
Of course you have. Apparently you haven’t been reading my writing very carefully. I am saying that actions that tend toward harm are always wrong, whether or not harm actually occurs in a given case.
Well, it is true that I do not recall seeing that qualification of “tend toward harm” before. For example:
Sex with children is wrong because it harms children.
Again, if ‘harm’ or ‘tending toward harm’ is extended to cover potential as well as actual harm, and ‘harm’ such as disrespectful actions such as desecrating a grave without anyone seeing, then maybe we agree. But as with many classical consequentialist arguments it seems, to me, to rely on stretching a definition of a word way beyond its usual meaning in order to make a moral system look simple in its premise.
OK, I can’t resist responding here. An Aristotelian virtue is a habitual disposition that leads to excellent action in ANY sphere of life.
Doesn’t that just shift the ambiguity from the definition of ‘virtue’ to that of ‘excellent action’.

How does a bowel movement lead to ‘excellent action’ where a loving (bla bla - you remember this bit?) relationship only does so if it is heterosexual?
Can you tell me any other area of life (other than sex and severe bodily harm) in which a parent is not allowed to give consent on behalf of their child? Why, in your opinion, is a parent not allowed to give consent in the case of sex?
Is not, or should not be allowed to give consent? You maybe aware that in some cultures parents have been able to consent to sex (well, marriage and by implication, sex) for children?

I would say any long term or permanent decision where there is not compelling reason to do so. The parent should, in other words, be acting for the child’s benefit, not their own, as abjectively as possible. Should a parent be able to commit a child to a lifelong unbreakable contract? Tattoo them according to the parents wishes?

I’m still not clear what we are doing here. I at least am trying to understand your moral system.
 
Everyone knew what a circle was as soon as they looked at a full moon. Pi was understood long before Euclid. But what we needed, and what you asked for, was a written definition. Euclid is generally regarded as the father of geometry and was the first person to list definitions and axioms which allowed Euclidean geometry to proceed (the one you learned in school).

So a circle is a circle by definition. It is not an opinion. It is not a matter of interpretation. If you define it any other way, then geometry will not work. You cannot call it a square.

And it doesn’t matter if you accept Euclid wrote the definition or it was written by his kid sister. The definitions stand.
Actually, Bradski, if you follow the sequence of arguments, what was presented was a query to Dr. Taffy as to **why **he calls a circle a circle. He was asked to demonstrate the reason for calling something a circle, not to reiterate a definition.

He claimed that he could explain why it’s called a circle. He said, verbatim: “Then I would show him or her why I call that a circle. I would not just repeat the assertion, as you have done”

But what you’ve both done is simply reassert what is true (although, astonishingly and amusingly, Dr. Taffy claims it’s only his opinion, bolding his “I” to emphasize this*): a circle is “a round plane figure whose boundary (the circumference) consists of points equidistant from a fixed point (the centre). It’s not a matter open for discussion.** A circle is a circle by definition** and geometry will not work if you insist that it’s a plave figure bounf by 4 straight lines.”

And yet you seem to be objecting folks doing the same thing for marriage. We say: a marriage is a marriage by definition, and society will not work if you insist it’s any committed relationship that demands the status of a marriage.
To the limited extent that it matters in maths, I would merely point out that this is what I mean by a circle, I may give the historical etymological background, then get to the relevant points of discussing it’s properties.
 
And it doesn’t matter if you accept Euclid wrote the definition or it was written by his kid sister. The definitions stand.
You do see my point, though, right, friend? You simply accept that Euclid wrote a definition of a circle, even though you have very, very little evidence that he did actually do this.

Would that atheists would be consistent in their application of credulity to historical claims!
 
Because we don’t separate sex from marriage, but perhaps you do. :confused:
I find the divorcing of marriage from sex to be the most peculiar of propositions that have been made by the Pro-Gay Marriage side.

Catholicism has always define marriage as a lifelong commitment in which the man and woman exchange valid matrimonial consent, and which involves the exchange of a right to marital congress with the spouse.

It’s simply…weird…that people want to say they can be married without the ability/desire to have sex.
 
Now, as far as the rest of it goes, do you accept the perpetual virginity of Mary and the validity of Josephite marriages, or do I need to give you some pointers to catholic teaching on that?🙂
I am not a bully, so I’m not going to shame you any further into conceding that you made a claim about the Bible that simply ain’t there.

Just know this, DrTaffy: the Bible NEVER states that Mary and Joseph never had marital relations.

[SIGN1]You can read Genesis through Revelation–you’ll never find it.[/SIGN1]

We get this from Sacred Tradition, which is the paradosis that has been handed down to us from the Apostles.

Now I know that you will never make that mistake again, and that is sweetly satisfying to me. 🙂
 
Ookay, a clarification: to me, actually “using your stomach to hold your lithium batteries (so you’ll always have them when you need them!)” would imply that :
  • you could get them back when you wanted them. Otherwise you don’t “always have them when you need them!”
Yep. Pretty much. It does imply that.

arbl.cvmbs.colostate.edu/hbooks/pathphys/digestion/stomach/vomiting.html
  • neither you nor they suffered any significant physical harm in this process, as you failed to mention anything about this.
Think about this very carefully, DrTaffy. You are saying that there is no significant physical harm from storing lithium batteries in your stomach in order to be able to retrieve them conveniently.

Even a non-medical lay person can see how ridiculous that assertion is.

poison.org/battery/fatalcases.asp
Sure I would.
And then you would have earned the label of being DISORDERED.
 
Personally, I don’t think there is any connection between merely being gay and suicide; I expect the connection is either a matter of suicide arising from guilt and shame from homosexual activity, or a “common cause” connection – for example, a boy might be abused by a man, and this might lead to two things: homosexual attractions and suicidal ideations.
Well I think that we can agree that being abused can happen to anyone and it’s not something one chooses to have done to oneself, so we can ignore that. But guilt? That’s a different matter.

I’m sure you have felt guilty about something. And that was invariably because you felt you were knowingly doing something that you were convinced was wrong. The act doesn’t itself have to be wrong. You just need to believe it to be so. So imagine if you are told that what you are actually feeling is wrong. Maybe if you were strong willed enough you could stop drinking or masturbating or whatever was causing your guilty feelings. That would assuage your guilt. You might even feel a little righteous. But what happens when you can’t stop thinking about something that makes you feel guilty. It’s not something you can prevent. If you have been convinced it’s wrong, then that debilitating feeling of guilt is there with you at all times. How do you think that feels?

And please, no platitudes about only the homosexual act itself being a sin. Even in a Christian forum like this I have seen so little generosity of spirit from some members regarding fellow Christians who happen to be gay that it simply makes me very angry indeed. I had a discussion on another forum just a few days ago where a member stated that that you should use the pronoun ‘it’ for gay people. He said he would use it in reference to any family member who was gay.

How many times have you seen the word ‘perversion’ used in threads like this? Well, if something is a perversion and you want to do it then you must be perverted. You become yourself, according to your fellow Christians, a pervert. Even if you don’t act on it, you are constantly, day by day, for the rest of your life, thinking to yourself: ‘I keep wanting to do perverted things. How can I stop!’

Well, there’s one way out.
Also, if – as you claim, the suicide rate is merely “a reflection of most people’s attitude toward gays”, can you explain to me why suicide rates among gay people haven’t significantly changed over the past 30-40 years, despite radically increased acceptance of homosexuality?
I have no figures on that but it wouldn’t really surprise me. When I was growing up, gay people remained in the closet for a very good reason indeed. Even at the end of the twentieth century, to our collective shame, the terms ‘******’ and ‘queer’ were still in general us (what am I saying? In some quarters they still are).

But now it’s out in the open. The majority of people see nothing wrong with being gay, so there’s no problem in having gay people in politics, in sport, in music, in theatre, in the office, in the check out. But what we have now is a reaction from an increasing minority who want to go back to the way we were. When it wasn’t talked about. When people like this knew their place. Where you didn’t have football players kissing their partners on TV. I mean, where will it all end!

So we have an increasingly vocal minority complaining ever louder about the situation. And the rhetoric is not now whispered in hushed comments behind someone’s back. Not yelled out by hoons with too much beer and too little sense. Now the term ‘pervert’ is common currency. Now we have politicians blaming natural disasters on homosexuality. Whereas in previous times, bigoted people kept their obnoxious views to themselves and their common-cause friends, now anyone with an internet connection has carte blanche to voice their hatred of homosexuality at every opportunity.

I don’t know how a lot of gay people manage to put up with it. Maybe support from family and friends? Because without that, getting this form of abuse on a daily basis would turn any person’s thoughts to suicide.
Oh, I would be happy to declare 50-80% of heterosexual marriages null and void, on the basis that the parties did not intend faithfulness until death. I don’t treat gay couples different from straight couples.
We are not talking about nullifying marriages. We are talking about whether they should be allowed in the first instance. If you have a figure in mind as to the percentage of gay people who cheat on their partners after marriage and use that as a basis for not allowing gay marriage, then one would assume that you’d have to use that same percentage for heterosexual marriages. Or would it be different. Either way, do you have a figure for both?
 
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