I'm not talking about the movie in this instance, but a comment thread among some teenagers who have been gracious enough to friend me on Facebook. The author of the thread has given me his permission to reprint the comments here.
Please note: I would very much appreciate if you would NOT comment on the rightness or wrongness of the arguments presented below. I'm hoping you will note instead the carefulness, thoughtfulness and kindness of them all. Are the commenters echoing what they hear at home? Possibly. But I wouldn't discount their opinions as mere parroting. God knows teens form their own opinions. At any rate, it's a heck of a lot deeper commentary than, say, who's your favorite Real Housewife.
Enjoy.
Monday, 8/16 21:15
A: Today, equality was stalled by the courts, but one day the constitution will prevail, but we must still wait for America to stand up to its promise as the land of equality. I have confidence in my generation however that we will be able to cast off old fashioned views and allow all people to marry who they wish. And to... my conservative friends, allowing gay marriage would help stimulate the economy slightly.
B: all i heard was gay rights were put off
A: the appeals court decided to stall gay marriage until it goes through their court.
B: woowwwwwww
whats there to stall about?
A: idk questions about the constitutionality about not allowing a group of people the benifits of legally being married.
B: thats also bull
A: well their entire argument does not stand up to the constitutional test, when they throw out religion technically no religion has to recognize any marriage, but there is seperation between church in state, and my other question is how does adam + steve ruin your marriage, marriage is a holy sacrament so shouldn't all be able to enjoy it.
B: it goes against the constitution.... pursuit of happiness
A: actually it goes against the part that says equal protection under the law, pursuit of happiness is not mentioned in the constitution it is mentioned in the declaration of independence, but if we are following the ideas of natural law it violates that too.
B: whatevers.... prop 8 is against federal law
A: true.
C: marriage is a sacred practice between a man and a woman and unholy between two people of the same sex. here these liberals are targeting one of THE number one most important things to a conservative, their own religious practices, which is ...not a legal matter. they are treating it as though it hardly matters and destroying good values. domestic partnership but slightly improved should be enough and they can have their own little ceremony. this takes constitutional rights out of context. every person has the right to marry the opposite gender, and this is a nonsecular matter...nothing against gays just wanting to explain another viewpoint most people don't understand correctly
A: We are not arguing in favor of forcing faiths to recognize gay marriages, I make that clear in my third comment, but legally all people must be equally protected under the law. Domestic partnership is a seperate but "equal" type law which is not usually equal in truth, so constitutionally your argument holds no water.
C: constitutionally? the american people have rights just as well as groups and ideas..it is not a government matter, it's a government decision when it comes down to it, but it's a controversial subject about beliefs. marriage is a holy ancie...nt practice and yes, ur argument if it only pertains to the law, is solid. but marriage in itself is and should be very separate from state law. if all the rights of legal marriage were separate and marriage itself did not require a permit there would be almost no problems with this. i would give homosexuals the rights if it were up to me but i think it is fair and within the confines of equality to deny them the title of marriage. constitutionally they all have the same rights, marriage has always been defined as heterosexual which they can do if they want or legally become the opposite sex. however economically they are good because they account for a large sum of adoptions and if they were to be in a partnership similar to marriage many couples are more in demand for adoption. should they have the same rights as married couples? sure. should they be allowed to take on 'marriage'? no.
A: I will address your argument in many parts at a time
1. It is a government matter, married couples get benifits that unmarried ones dont and it is in the law too.
2 If it is not a government issue than Prop H8 should be thrown out immediatly ...judging that it deals with the state constitution
3. Religious communities do not have to recognize anything.
4. Not all heterosexual marriages are religious or for having kids, atheists get married too.
5."legally become the opposite sex" what part of same sex do you not understand they like the same sex, that is what they are physically attracted too. and you are also saying that stripping people of their idea is more acceptable than simply allowing them to marry.
6. Final question will the world fall apart if we allow gay people? It did not when they were legal in the summer of 2008.
Thank u for your argument you make some compelling points.
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