Homosexual civil unions

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dakota_Roberts
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
On the contrary, the President is defending marriage as it is. As it is in Massachusetts, as it is in Connecticut, as it is in Iowa, as it is in Vermont and as it is in New Hampshire.

rossum
Sadly. This is a not unexpected answer. Such marriages are simply inventions and are not of the people, by the people or for the people. The Dictatorship of Relativism has been recognized for what it is.

There is real truth as opposed to novel invention.

Peace,
Ed
 
Do you think they are being a bit uppity?
^ (Not addressed to me)

In the sense that they are appropriating to themselves an artificial set of “rights” which belong to a category which they are not participating in, then yes, in that sense they are being “uppity.”

And if I appropriate to myself a privilege (not a right – marriage is not a right – it is a privilege, a privilege which grows out of a natural union as opposed to an artificial union) that belongs to someone who owns that right by reason of birth or some other ownership (such as earning a title, a position), then I am also acting “a bit uppity.” After all, I do indeed know as much, and in some selected cases, much more than, certain attorneys. That does not give me the “right” to go into court and supplant attorneys who have standing in the bar, even if I can prove that I am equal to them, or even superior to them, in whatever it takes to be a successful attorney, because I am essentially (by virtue of state law) unqualified for that position. And the state gets to make regulations like that, for the order of society. Marriage and even civil unions are part of the order of society.

And if there’s some role or position which is denied to me because of my height or some other physical attribute, but I nevertheless “demand” to be part of that category and partake the “rights” of that category, I am, yes, being ‘uppity.’
 
^ (Not addressed to me)

In the sense that they are appropriating to themselves an artificial set of “rights” which belong to a category which they are not participating in, then yes, in that sense they are being “uppity.”

And if I appropriate to myself a privilege (not a right – marriage is not a right – it is a privilege, a privilege which grows out of a natural union as opposed to an artificial union) that belongs to someone who owns that right by reason of birth or some other ownership (such as earning a title, a position), then I am also acting “a bit uppity.” After all, I do indeed know as much, and in some selected cases, much more than, certain attorneys. That does not give me the “right” to go into court and supplant attorneys who have standing in the bar, even if I can prove that I am equal to them, or even superior to them, in whatever it takes to be a successful attorney, because I am essentially (by virtue of state law) unqualified for that position. And the state gets to make regulations like that, for the order of society. Marriage and even civil unions are part of the order of society.

And if there’s some role or position which is denied to me because of my height or some other physical attribute, but I nevertheless “demand” to be part of that category and partake the “rights” of that category, I am, yes, being ‘uppity.’
WOW!!! that is awesome. you are so honest.

when, pray tell, have you been denied a role or position because of your height or some other physical attribute? i know that it happens. many jobs will require that you are able to lift a certain amount of weight over your head, or whatever, but how specifically is this related to sexuality?

also, how are you defining a natural union as opposed to an artificial one? it would seem, to me, that any altruistic impulse would be unnatural, if the only purpose we had as people was to propagate our own DNA. clearly, the most natural thing to do in that case would be to club anyone else to death that might interfere with our own procreation, but i don’t want to put words in your mouth.

please go on;p

incidentally, strictly speaking, the us supreme court has identified marriage as a fundamental human right (see the court cases that i mentioned before) and not a privilege, so… i’m sort of at a loss for words.
 
Sadly. This is a not unexpected answer. Such marriages are simply inventions and are not of the people, by the people or for the people. The Dictatorship of Relativism has been recognized for what it is.

There is real truth as opposed to novel invention.

Peace,
Ed
not everyone knows about the dictatorship of relativism (i sure don’t), so here it is from wikipedia:
*
“Dictatorship of Relativism”

Continuing what [pope benedict] said in the pre-conclave Mass about what he has often referred to as the “central problem of our faith today”, on 6 June 2005 Pope Benedict also said:
“ Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to the task of education is the massive presence in our society and culture of that relativism which, recognising nothing as definitive, leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self with its desires. And under the semblance of freedom it becomes a prison for each one, for it separates people from one another, locking each person into his or her own ego."

He said that “a dictatorship of relativism” was the core challenge facing the church and humanity. At the root of this problem, he said, is Kant’s “self-limitation of reason”. This, he said, is contradictory to the modern acclamation of science whose excellence is based on the power of reason to know the truth. He said that this self-amputation of reason leads to pathologies of religion such as terrorism and pathologies of science such as ecological disasters. Benedict traced the failed revolutions and violent ideologies of the 20th century to a conversion of partial points of view into absolute guides. He said “Absolutizing what is not absolute but relative is called totalitarianism.”

In an address to a conference of the Diocese of Rome held at the basilica of St. John Lateran 6 June 2005, Benedict remarked on the issues of same sex marriage and abortion:
The various forms of the dissolution of matrimony today, like free unions, trial marriages and going up to pseudo-matrimonies by people of the same sex, are rather expressions of an anarchic freedom that wrongly passes for true freedom of man...from here it becomes all the more clear how contrary it is to human love, to the profound vocation of man and woman, to systematically close their union to the gift of life, and even worse to suppress or tamper with the life that is born.*
 
when, pray tell, have you been denied a role or position because of your height or some other physical attribute? i know that it happens. many jobs will require that you are able to lift a certain amount of weight over your head, or whatever, but how specifically is this related to sexuality?
It’s related by analogy. People are denied all kinds of opportunities (opportunities, not rights) because they are not part of a particular category or qualiicatoin necessary for that opportunity. Unless you’ve read the full document I referred to, there’s no point in drawing out the lengthy comparisons. The document says it better.
also, how are you defining a natural union as opposed to an artificial one?
Read the docoument.
incidentally, strictly speaking, the us supreme court has identified marriage as a fundamental human right
Incidentally, strictly speaking, Loving v. Virginia did no such thing. It identified heterosexual marriage as a fundamental right. Homosexual marriage was not on the table. Learn how the law works, how legal rulings work and how they’re defined, what the limits of legal rulings are as they are expressed. Loving v. Virginia did not redefine (expand) the definition of marriage.
 
I may start a movement to give males the right to be called mother, and to enjoy any benefits given to mothers. The fact that we do not have the natural capability to give birth matters not. It’s equal protection, after all, regardless of natural impossibility.
 
It’s related by analogy. People are denied all kinds of opportunities (opportunities, not rights) because they are not part of a particular category or qualiicatoin necessary for that opportunity. Unless you’ve read the full document I referred to, there’s no point in drawing out the lengthy comparisons. The document says it better.

Incidentally, strictly speaking, Loving v. Virginia did no such thing. It identified heterosexual marriage as a fundamental right. Homosexual marriage was not on the table. Learn how the law works, how legal rulings work and how they’re defined, what the limits of legal rulings are as they are expressed. Loving v. Virginia did not redefine (expand) the definition of marriage.
i don’t have access to the full document you referred to, so if you would be so kind as to provide a link, i would be obliged.

that said, you are missing my point. the cases that i mentioned didn’t specify straight marriage either, you are inserting that language all by yourself. and i have taken the time to read the supreme court rulings, so it’s not like i don’t know where i’m coming from. your “learn how the law works” comment is a bit ad hominem; i doubt that the vast majority of people on this forum hold law degrees, yet they are allowed to express any opinion they want without qualification.

here is an excerpt from turner v safley, i have edited out some little bits to make it better support my position, but if you want to look it up yourself check here:
First, … marriages … are expressions of emotional support and public commitment. These elements are an important and significant aspect of the marital relationship. In addition, many religions recognize marriage as having spiritual significance; for some [people] and their spouses, therefore, the commitment of marriage may be an exercise of religious faith as well as an expression of personal dedication. … Finally, marital status often is a precondition to the receipt of government benefits (e. g., Social Security benefits), property rights (e. g., tenancy by the entirety, inheritance rights), and other, less tangible benefits (e. g., legitimation of children born out of wedlock).

the parts i edited don’t say “straight marriage” or anything of the kind. this case was about the right of inmates to marry, and the conclusion of the supreme court was that marriage is a “fundamental right” under zablocki v redhail (1978) and loving v virginia (1967). those cases do not say it is a “straight” right; the implication is that it is a fundamental human right.

so that’s what the civil laws say about marriage. now, gay rights groups are fighting to have the right of marriage recognized for themselves. this is always how it’s been. the slave amendments gave blacks civil rights, but those rights weren’t recognized for another 100 years. likewise, the equal rights protections in the constitution gives gays the right to marry, but they are going to have to fight for it.

your argument seems to me to boil down to “the definition of marriage is between a man and a woman.” this a tautological argument, couched in an appeal to tradition. my argument for allowing gay marriage is threefold: denying gays their right to marriage harms them, denying gays the right to marry harms their children, and, allowing gays the right to marry does not harm anybody else or their marriage.

if you can refute any of the above, then you will have made a stronger argument, but remember we are debating civil law, not canon law.
 
I may start a movement to give males the right to be called mother, and to enjoy any benefits given to mothers. The fact that we do not have the natural capability to give birth matters not. It’s equal protection, after all, regardless of natural impossibility.
i don’t follow. what benefits are you referring to? in most states, mothers who abandon their children are required to pay child support to the father. in most states, mothers and fathers are treated equally under the law, although unfortunately it also depends on how good a lawyer you can afford.

i see what you are trying to do, is to say that men and women are different. you could go further and say that men are different from other men, and women from other women. you could go even further and say that every individual is a unique and beautiful snowflake.

now, your choice is how many of these snowflakes should have equal protection under the law: all, some or none. marriage is a civil right. it may have started as a religious sacrament during the bronze age in the middle east, but we are living in the post-industrial age in the west. marriage means two distinctly different things in both of these places. and unless you have a time machine, or plan on moving to one of the more backward theocracies, then i think you should get used to it.

but that’s just my advice, you don’t have to change your lifestyle or beliefs at all if you don’t want to. and that’s also my point: if gays are allowed to get married, you don’t have to change you beliefs or lifestyle if you don’t want to.
 
i don’t follow. what benefits are you referring to? in most states, mothers who abandon their children are required to pay child support to the father. in most states, mothers and fathers are treated equally under the law, although unfortunately it also depends on how good a lawyer you can afford.

i see what you are trying to do, is to say that men and women are different. you could go further and say that men are different from other men, and women from other women. you could go even further and say that every individual is a unique and beautiful snowflake.

now, your choice is how many of these snowflakes should have equal protection under the law: all, some or none. marriage is a civil right. it may have started as a religious sacrament during the bronze age in the middle east, but we are living in the post-industrial age in the west. marriage means two distinctly different things in both of these places. and unless you have a time machine, or plan on moving to one of the more backward theocracies, then i think you should get used to it.

but that’s just my advice, you don’t have to change your lifestyle or beliefs at all if you don’t want to. and that’s also my point: if gays are allowed to get married, you don’t have to change you beliefs or lifestyle if you don’t want to.
No, I am saying that homosexual marriage is simply a contradiction in terms. Homosexuals do not have the natural capacity to marry (each other) because marriage requires a marital sexual relationship involving complementary sexual organs ordered to the production of the next generation. Consequently the state has an interest in marriage, because it has an interest in the preservation of the society and in the next generations of taxpayers. Counterfeit marriage does nothing for society.

Homosexual marriage is physically and naturally impossible. That is why it should not be recognized as marriage: it is not and never can be. Unlike even sterile heterosexual marriage, it is an ontological impossibility, just like me being a mother.
 
No, I am saying that homosexual marriage is simply a contradiction in terms. Homosexuals do not have the natural capacity to marry (each other) because marriage requires a marital sexual relationship involving complementary sexual organs ordered to the production of the next generation.
with all due respect, you are taking a very narrow view of what marriage is about. it isn’t only about having children and having sex. those things are undeniably part of most marriages, but it isn’t the end all of every marriage. further, you are citing canon law, but this discussion is about civil law. i have already provided counterexamples where your definition doesn’t hold true.

what you are doing here is making a tautological argument. following your definition of marriage, i can’t argue your logic, but i would say that you have constructed your argument on an incorrect premise.
Consequently the state has an interest in marriage, because it has an interest in the preservation of the society and in the next generations of taxpayers. Counterfeit marriage does nothing for society.
i don’t know if i would agree with that last statement. i could see a scenario where the state could benefit from recognizing gay marriage, but you would have to admit that gays are people, in our society, and that society at large benefits through equality. that would be a long argument to make, but i think that it almost goes without saying.
Homosexual marriage is physically and naturally impossible. That is why it should not be recognized as marriage: it is not and never can be. Unlike even sterile heterosexual marriage, it is an ontological impossibility, just like me being a mother.
again, this is only true if you use the rather narrow definition of marriage that you just made up. there are many other reasons that people may want to get married for, and you are not addressing them.

but also look at your definition of motherhood. if you take the very narrow definition that “a mother is one who expels a baby from their birth canal,” then you are right that you can’t be a mother. but there is much more to motherhood than gestation and birth. stay at home dads fulfill many of the duties that traditionally mothers have, but really you are just arguing semantics.

it’s just semantics. and that’s great for a clinical description of marriage, but by denying civil rights to gays, they are being done harm. so while you might be right, if you get to cherry pick your definitions, you are ignoring the big picture. the big picture is that gays are a sizable minority of the population. they are soldiers and senators and doctors just like everybody else. they have the same problems just like everybody else, in addition to being the last minority it is alright to discriminate against.

if you want to convince me otherwise, tell me how gay marriage would affect your life substantially. and be able to back it up with evidence; don’t say it will lead to the breakdown of society with nothing to back it up. traditional marriage has been under assault in this country for years, by married people. half of marriages end in divorce, and there is no significant difference between religious and non-religious people. i don’t see how allowing gay marriage is going to change that, but i will honestly listen if you can connect the dots for me.
 
i don’t have access to the full document you referred to, so if you would be so kind as to provide a link, i would be obliged.
The link is also posted in the Moral Theology thread about “Gay love” (etc.) You don’t need more assistance than that. No one else has trouble accessing the document. It is also been posted twice before in different locations in the Social Justice subforum.
your argument seems to me to boil down to “the definition of marriage is between a man and a woman.” this a tautological argument, couched in an appeal to tradition. my argument for allowing gay marriage is threefold: denying gays their right to marriage harms them, denying gays the right to marry harms their children, and, allowing gays the right to marry does not harm anybody else or their marriage.
if you can refute any of the above, then you will have made a stronger argument, but remember we are debating civil law, not canon law.
It’s not tautology, and it’s not about canon law. Read the linked document, which is based in philoosophy, logic, and the common good, not on religion. Because a fact is self-evident does not make it a tautology. Other than that, all your “arguments” have been refuted, in the link, and elsewhere on CAF discussions about non-specifically-religious arguments on this topic. That includes the so-called [artificial] rights, since genuine rights are also based on common understandings as opposed to self-proclaimed categories.

What this actually is, is about critical reading and decisive logic.
 
please either link to this, or elucidate. i don’t see how this applies to my argument, because i can’t see the document. there are many hundreds of pages to sort through and i can’t, using the search functions available, determine the name of the document you are referring to.
 
No, I am saying that homosexual marriage is simply a contradiction in terms. Homosexuals do not have the natural capacity to marry (each other) because marriage requires a marital sexual relationship involving complementary sexual organs ordered to the production of the next generation.
This is not currently the case with civil marriage. A woman past the menopause or who has had a hysterectomy can get married. A paraplegic can get married. A war veteran with an unfortunate injury can get married.

In civil law the inability to procreate is not a bar to marriage and it is civil law that we are discussing in this thread.

rossum
 
with all due respect, you are taking a very narrow view of what marriage is about. it isn’t only about having children and having sex. those things are undeniably part of most marriages, but it isn’t the end all of every marriage. further, you are citing canon law, but this discussion is about civil law. i have already provided counterexamples where your definition doesn’t hold true.
It’s not about canon law, it’s about reality. Marriage has always been between opposite sexes since the beginning of civilization. That’s because it’s a natural institution. Trying to define something as other than what it is, always leads to bad effects. I could define plutonium as being the equivalent of sodium in the periodic table, in the interests of equality, but if anyone took it seriously the effects would be bad. To say that defining plutonium as sodium is a tautology, would be merely to ignore reality. The nature of marriage is also a reality; it has not and will not change.
 
It’s not about canon law, it’s about reality. Marriage has always been between opposite sexes since the beginning of civilization. That’s because it’s a natural institution. Trying to define something as other than what it is, always leads to bad effects. I could define plutonium as being the equivalent of sodium in the periodic table, in the interests of equality, but if anyone took it seriously the effects would be bad. To say that defining plutonium as sodium is a tautology, would be merely to ignore reality. The nature of marriage is also a reality; it has not and will not change.
So, am I right to assume that you have no objections to homosexual ‘civil unions’ or ‘civil partnerships’ then because they do not use the actual word “marriage”?

rossum
 
It’s not about canon law, it’s about reality. Marriage has always been between opposite sexes since the beginning of civilization. That’s because it’s a natural institution. Trying to define something as other than what it is, always leads to bad effects. I could define plutonium as being the equivalent of sodium in the periodic table, in the interests of equality, but if anyone took it seriously the effects would be bad. To say that defining plutonium as sodium is a tautology, would be merely to ignore reality. The nature of marriage is also a reality; it has not and will not change.
Jim, you are onto something very real here. Anyone who promotes same sex unions as the equivalent of marriage is showing that they have a very shallow understanding of Trinitarian theology and of the sacramental nature of creation, including and especially, the nature of man and woman as created by God.

Marragies was called the “Primordial Sacrament” by Pope John Paul II. Recall that a sacrament uses visible realities to reveal to us divine and invisible truths.

The union of man and woman produces a child, and it is exactly this union - the complete self giving love of a husband and wife - which reveals to us the inner working of the Trinity. God the Father and God the Son, freely giving themselves to each other in self sacrificing love, is what produces the Holy Spirit. Catholics bear witness to this in the most basic profession of our beliefs, the creed…

We believe in the Holy Spirit
The Lord, the giver of life
Who proceedes from the Father and the Son


Man and woman, totally committed to each other and living out the epitome of that commitment in sexual union is not only the way God created for mankind to know the most intimate innner working of himself in the form of the Trinity, it is the way in which we experience the innnermost workings of the Trinity in our very lives.

*God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27)*The author of Genesis was doing more than just noting down his observations about the differences between people as if he were just noting hair color or eye color. Sacred scripture - the primary author of which is God - is revealing to us a sublime message here. Our masculinity and femininity and how we use them in our most committed and self-sacrificing state, matrimony, reveals to us and is the way we live out the selfless love between God the Father and God the Son in our daily lives.

Anything less or different is a distortion of our view of God and a rejection of God’s plan for us.

-Tim-
 
I asked this question on another website and got no true answers.

Can anyone name 3 healthy aspects to a homosexual civil union?

I only ask this becasue, many will agree, that even traditional marriages have their share of problems, but it is far more complicated in an homosexual relationship.
 
It’s not about canon law, it’s about reality. Marriage has always been between opposite sexes since the beginning of civilization. That’s because it’s a natural institution. Trying to define something as other than what it is, always leads to bad effects. I could define plutonium as being the equivalent of sodium in the periodic table, in the interests of equality, but if anyone took it seriously the effects would be bad. To say that defining plutonium as sodium is a tautology, would be merely to ignore reality. The nature of marriage is also a reality; it has not and will not change.
as to the argument that straight marriage is natural, you’re making an equivocation. natural doesn’t mean that some act results in or leads to procreation. if animals (including humans) are natural, and everything they do is natural, then gay sex is natural. over 450 species of animals have been observed to participate in homosexual sex, see here. however, of all of those species, only people seem to practice marriage. so by that reasoning, the institution of marriage is unnatural. but it’s irrelevant what people or animals do, because you are rather arbitrarily defining “natural” to mean what you want it to mean, not what it actually is.

you are also making an appeal to tradition. the nature of marriage has changed considerably. here is a formerly authoritative passage from deuteronomy:
Deut 25:5-6 If brothers live together, and one of them dies and has no child, the wife of the dead shall not marry outside to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as a wife for himself, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. And it shall be, the first-born whom she bears shall succeed in the name of his dead brother, so that his name may not be put out of Israel.
Deu 25:7 And if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the gate to the elders and say, My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name in Israel to his brother. He will not perform my levirate.
Deu 25:8 Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. And if he stands and says, I do not desire to take her,
Deu 25:9 then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of his elders, and take off his shoe from his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done to that man who will not build up his brother’s house.
Deu 25:10 And his name shall be called in Israel, The house of him who has his shoe taken off.
and i don’t understand how plutonium and sodium are going to march in the streets for their civil rights. you are straining the analogy. i’m talking about civil rights, you are referring to the periodic table. we might as well just be speaking two different languages.

i’m talking about the modern institution of marriage. today, marital status often is a precondition to the receipt of government benefits (e. g., Social Security benefits), property rights (e. g., tenancy by the entirety, inheritance rights), and other, less tangible benefits (e. g., legitimation of children born out of wedlock). it isn’t merely for procreation.

instead of arguing by analogy, state specifically the detrimental effects of gay marriage. there are many empirical benefits to society. look to the scandinavian countries for examples. they include lower incidence of suicide among gay people, lower rates of stds, and less promiscuity among gay people. and, since the passage of gay rights legislation in these countries, there are lower rates of divorce and children living with unwed parents. the evidence points to allowing gay marriage actually strengthening the institution of marriage in general, although admittedly correlation doesn’t equal causation and there could be other reasons for this.

furthermore, and more importantly, tell me how banning gay marriage doesn’t hurt gay people and their children. lowering gay people to second-class citizens almost certainly harms them, and i could point you to many sources. see here here here and especially here. and this is just a small sample.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top