Gay marriage banned in ten states.

The BBQ Pit
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This is what I -really- cared about in yesterday’s general election.

The president? Kerry would have been nice. But it really was ‘the lesser of two evils’ thing for me, and I honestly think the white house is in for four more years of muddling either way.

But the fact that gay marriage was banned so thoroughally, and so vaguely (many of them ban -anything- that even approximates some sort of civil domestic union), makes me sick, and makes me want to cry.

From John Locke’s second treatise of natural government:

Whenever the legislators endeavour to take away and destroy the property of the people, or to reduce them to slavery under arbitrary power, they put themselves into a state of war with the people, who are thereupon absolved from any farther obedience, and are left to the common refuge which God hath provided for all men against force and violence. Whensoever, therefore, the legislative shall transgress this fundamental rule of society, and either by ambition, fear, folly, or corruption, endeavour to grasp themselves, or put into the hands of any other, an absolute power over the lives, liberties, and estates of the people, by this breach of trust they forfeit the power the people had put into their hands for quite contrary ends, and it devolves to the people, who have a right to resume their original liberty, and by the establishment of a new legislative (such as they shall think fit), provide for their own safety and security, which is the end for which they are in society.

And from the declaration of independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. --That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

Land of the free…home of the brave.

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Land of the bigots.

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I can only offer a feeble apology from Ohio along with, it wasn’t all of us.

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Can’t say I’m proud of my state at all. Fucking bible thumpers came out of the god damned woodwork…

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You gotta admit, this really shouldn’t have been a surprise. Here at the SDMB, we’re a generally tolerant lot, and those that disagree with homosexuality keep it to themselves, respecting the rights of those that are for it.
But this isn’t the real world. Out there, the mobs can be herded to one side of an issue or another by just 15 carefully chosen (and exhaustively tested) words. In here, reasoned debate is the preferred method of gaining supporters.

I was surprised by the outcome of the Virginia 2nd Congressional race (this is for Ed Shrock’s replacement.) David Ashe, Democrat, former Marine JAG who had done two tours in Iraq, ran a respectful, issue-oriented campaign. He even won the endorsement of the local paper here early on. His opponent, realtor and state congresswoman, Thelma Drake, was a last minute substitute for Shrock on the Republican side of the race. She refused to publically debate Ashe, bragged about how she voted in the Va legislature to cut taxes while our budget was in the red. Drake implied that Ashe would weaken the military if he won. She blasted him on things he didn’t say (or worse, in my opinion, took things out of context) and generally ran what was a slimy campaign. Yet she won by a margin of 55% to 45%. Very disheartening. (Kerry, by the way, won in our district with 51%- 48%)

Hang in there on SSM. IIRC, it took a long time for blacks to no longer be legally considered 2nd class citizens.

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Well, it really hurts to know that so many of my fellow citizens hate me that mcuh.

And I will laugh at anyone who says that Christianity is a religion of love. It’s a club for bigots and Pharisees who like to exalt themselves over the common run of humanity, nothing more.

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Well, I ( hetero that I am ) voted against the gay marriage ban. Sadly, the rest of Oregon didn’t share my views.

Sorry. I tried.

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I love you, and I’m sorry I’m not a citizen so my opinion counted.

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Please, please don’t paint all of us Christians with the same brush. I’m all for same-sex marriage, and I think that Christ would be, too. I admit that there are more intolerant Christians out there than there are tolerant ones, but we do exist, and we pray that one day we won’t be the minority in our churches – and that you won’t be the minority in our society.

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Awfully wide brush you’ve got there…

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/1234863_18b82a287c.jpg

And gobear, the biggest Protestant denomination in this country is in favour of SSM.

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My favorite is Kentucky, who already has a ban against same sex marriage. I suppose they wanted to make REALLY sure that THEM THAR HOMOS wouldn’t have a chance.

I’m kind of bitter.

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Sorry, giuys, but the wide brush is appropriate in this instance. The anti-SSM initiatives were spearheaded by conservative Christian groups with the express point of marginalizing gay people. Spare me talk about how your congregation isn’tt like that or how you might belong to a group that opposed SSM but you secretly opposed it.

As Christianity is practiced in the US (as opposed to the supposed tenets of love and compassion it putatively esposuses), it is no more than a club for Pharisees, a group of plastr saints that likes to congratulate themselveds onhow superior they are to everyone else, especially the sodomites. Read I Corinthians 13–all I hear is tinkling brass from the churches.

Phelps has the honesty to say what you all secretly believe, according to the election results. Every anti-SSM initiative passed, thanks to the GOTV efforts of the churches. Thanks, heaps.

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Considering the forum we’re in and the gravity of the situation and just how current the events are, I’ll refrain from saying any more than I disagree with you and I think you’re doing yourself and your cause a great deal more harm than good by espousing this attitude.

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It’s not an attitude; but the plain truth. Hate is what Christians stand for, not love.

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Aw, c’mon, gobear. I know you’re hurting right now, but you know that isn’t true, any more than “All Muslims are terrorists” or “All gays are child molesters.” Painting with that broad a brush helps no-one.

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warning: this post is filled with stereotyping caused by extreme anger.

I find it utterly depressing that the majority of this country thinks its OK to legislate hatred, especially while spewing LIES about love and values. The sheer hypocrisy of Christianity is so glaringly obvious to those not awash in their lies, it is painful. I can’t believe those uneducated slack-jawed, inbred, underbiting, redneck, livestock-raping, bible-thumping assholes get to say what I can or can’t do with my life and my love, especially if it doesn’t prevent them from going to church and having relations with their sisters.

What’s next, tattoos and internment camps for uppity co-habitators?

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Because of the efforts and illuminating posts of the Gay Doper Brigade and their patience in educating the rest of us, I voted for SSM.

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gobear, what are the Christian people of Massachusetts, chopped liver? I’ll acknowledge that 99% of the opposition to gay marriage hear has come from religious types, but hasn’t all been from Christians, and there are large number of Christians here who support gay marriage.

I know that it looks pretty ugly from where you’re standing, but remember that all A is B doesn’t say much about B.

I find it very disheartening that so many people in so many place felt that they had a need to control other’s lives in this way. It truly shocks me, I guess because I can’t even see any self-interest in it, it just seems to be meanness for the sake of meanness.

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:frowning:

Thank you to everyone who voted, even when it wasn’t your fight.