http://www.opposingviews.com/questions/should-marriage-for-same-sex-couples-be-legal Opposing Views - Should Marriage for Same Sex Couples be Legal? http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/redefining-marriage-a-clear-and-present-danger-to-religious-liberty The freedom of religion is very important and discussions about it should be thoughtful. To argue that states’ anti-discrimination laws should not protect against discrimination based on sexual orientation is to argue that those same laws... Lambda Legal Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:23:25 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/redefining-marriage-a-clear-and-present-danger-to-religious-liberty http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/redefining-marriage-a-clear-and-present-danger-to-religious-liberty Religious liberty is under attack by those seeking to redefine marriage. By conveniently defining “religious liberty” in the narrowest sense, Lambda Legal tries... ADF Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:17:38 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/redefining-marriage-a-clear-and-present-danger-to-religious-liberty http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/to-truly-care-about-children-we-have-to-care-about-facts There is great irony in Lambda’s assertion that “some who oppose marriage for same-sex couples choose to ignore the facts.”  ... ADF Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:07:39 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/to-truly-care-about-children-we-have-to-care-about-facts http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/to-truly-care-about-children-we-have-to-care-about-facts There is a consensus among the leading professional associations in the field that children raised by lesbian or gay parents do not differ in any important respects from those raised by heterosexual parents.   Those associations include... Lambda Legal Fri, 07 Nov 2008 10:07:12 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/counters/to-truly-care-about-children-we-have-to-care-about-facts http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/slippery-slopesteep-cliff Those who agitate to de-define marriage consistently ignore the reason the state recognizes marriage in the first place.  In America, marriage has always been an institution existing primarily to protect children created within the one and only... ADF Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:33:36 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/slippery-slopesteep-cliff http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/high-cost-of-tampering-with-marriage-kids-hit-hardest The state’s interest in recognizing marriage is to ensure that as many children as possible grow up with their own married mom and dad.  Every child has a biological mom and dad.  The nonpartisan social science research is overwhelmingly... ADF Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:32:39 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/high-cost-of-tampering-with-marriage-kids-hit-hardest http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/marriage-means-that-both-moms-and-dads-matter Judges and politicians should never impose a system that purposely deprives children of a married mom and dad.  De-defining marriage does this.  Marriage de-definers insist, without supporting evidence, that all kids need is a “loving... ADF Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:32:10 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/marriage-means-that-both-moms-and-dads-matter http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/civil-and-religious-marriage-are-different Providing civil marriage to gay and lesbian couples will not force any religious institution to recognize any marriage that they do not wish to. Civil marriage is solely the province of the state. The state cannot force any denomination’s... Dignity USA Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:28:58 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/civil-and-religious-marriage-are-different http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/removing-barriers-not-changing-definition Allowing lesbian and gay couples to marry does not change laws for anyone currently allowed to marry. It simply involves removing discriminatory barriers to the legal rights and responsibilities that come with civil marriage, and treats all couples... Dignity USA Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:28:54 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/removing-barriers-not-changing-definition http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/civil-unions-are-separate-and-unequal Some states or municipalities offer civil unions or domestic partnerships to gay and lesbian couples in an attempt to provide some level of support to or acknowledgment of a couple’s commitment. However, civil unions are... Dignity USA Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:28:47 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/civil-unions-are-separate-and-unequal http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/marriage-inequality-presents-real-hardships The US Government has identified over 1,000 protections, benefits, and responsibilities that civil marriage provides for committed couples and their children. These range from hospital visitation and decision-making to inheritance to parenting. Gay... Dignity USA Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:28:30 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/marriage-inequality-presents-real-hardships http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/gay-marriage-is-not-a-civil-rights-issue Defining marriage as the union of a man and woman would not deny homosexuals the basic civil rights accorded other citizens. Nowhere in the Bill of Rights or in any legislation proceeding from it are homosexuals excluded from the rights enjoyed by... FRC Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:17:43 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/gay-marriage-is-not-a-civil-rights-issue http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/americans-reject-gay-marriage Typical of polls on the subject, a Fox News poll conducted after the Massachusetts ruling found that Americans oppose same-sex marriage by an overwhelming 66 to 25 percent margin. A majority of Americans also support a constitutional amendment... FRC Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:17:34 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/americans-reject-gay-marriage http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/upholding-traditional-marriage-is-not-discrimination Discrimination occurs when someone is unjustly denied some benefit or opportunity. But it must first be demonstrated that such persons deserve to be treated equally. For example, FAA and airline regulations rightly discriminate regarding who is... FRC Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:17:01 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/upholding-traditional-marriage-is-not-discrimination http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/gay-marriage-harms-traditional-marriage  How does gay marriage harm traditional marriage? One might as well ask, “How does printing counterfeit $20 bills hurt your wallet?” Or to use another example, can you imagine a building where every carpenter defined his... FRC Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:16:55 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/gay-marriage-harms-traditional-marriage http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/homosexuality-is-unnatural The advocates of anti-marriage and anti-family sexuality face yet another foe: divinely created nature itself. According to the above-mentioned Pew Poll, the next most frequent reason given for opposing gay marriage is that “homosexuality is... FRC Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:16:48 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/homosexuality-is-unnatural http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/28-other-nations-protect-same-sex-couples Twenty-eight nations have helped same-sex couples keep their commitments, and the sky hasn’t fallen.  For the United States to lag behind so many other nations contradicts its own history and principles.  After all, the... Lambda Legal Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:12:27 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/28-other-nations-protect-same-sex-couples http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/massachusetts-ended-the-marriage-exclusion Massachusetts no longer shuts committed same-sex couples out of marriage. The sky has not fallen, and actually communities are better off, because promoting responsibility is good for everyone. As observed by the Massachusetts newspaper The... Lambda Legal Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:12:18 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/massachusetts-ended-the-marriage-exclusion http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-freedom-to-marry-still-respects-the-freedom-of-religion Ending the exclusion from marriage does not take away the important religious freedom that we rightly cherish in this country.   All religious groups retain the right to make their own decisions, consistent with the principles of their... Lambda Legal Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:12:07 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/the-freedom-to-marry-still-respects-the-freedom-of-religion http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/ending-the-marriage-exclusion-helps-family-and-business When people are blocked from the legal protections that help keep a lifelong promise to someone they’ve chosen to take care of for life, they often feel they have to move to another state, and that’s bad for their families, fri... Lambda Legal Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:11:55 -0800 http://www.opposingviews.com/arguments/ending-the-marriage-exclusion-helps-family-and-business