Quote:
Originally posted by IvySpice
Do you truly believe that the civil unions are meant to be just "different," not any "less"?
|
I honestly dont' think in the eyes of the law it matters what I believe. I have been trying to make arguments that might actually hold up in court regarding why Civil Unions should not be struck down under the EP Clause.
But to answer your questions, I don't know what others mean Civil Unions to be, but NO, I don't meant them to be any "less." I have articulated before why I don't believe that they are. If you don't believe me, I am saddened because I would like you to understand me, but I can't make you. To me personally, I don't see them as any less or suggest them as a solution because I think they are any less.
Quote:
Originally posted by IvySpice
All I can say is that it's very unusual for millions of people to get worked up about preserving a legal distinction between two things that they view equally. Usually they're trying to preserve some kind of privilege for themselves. I can't know what's in the heart of a particular individual, but there are millions of straight people out there who'd allow gays to have civil unions, but not marriages, because they flat-out think that their straight unions are more special and better than gay unions. They don't really think that gay love is equal to straight love or that the commitment of those couples really matters as much as straight couples' commitment.
|
Again, not here. I know gay couples and I have observed the relationships of those I know on a very intimate level. My sister is a lesbian with a life partner and I think her relationship is no "less" than my parents. Just different- its between two people of the same sex.
A car is a car because it has a low wheel base- a truck is a truck because it has a higher wheel base- an SUV is an SUV becaue of whatever makes it an SUV- the definitions are different because the things are different. One is no better than the other. This is the way I see the difference between the two relationships.
Clearly, I know this issue is a bigger deal than cars and trucks but my point is that just because things are defined differently doesn't mean one is "less." Somethings just.....are.
In all honesty, I don't really care. I will likely never vote on this issue because it doesn't affect my life. If homosexuals get married great, if they don't great. I have far bigger issues that I vote on like health care, small business initiatives, the appointment of judges, women's rights, taxes and welfare. If a candidate is on my side of this issue great, if not it certainly won't change my vote if he agrees with everything else. Its just that legally looking at this issue, I don't see Civil Unions as violative of the EP clause and I definitely don't see the issue as comparable to the Civil Rights movement.
I can concede that some people likely are proponents of Civil Unions because they see them as "less." I don't think they are and don't think legally they will be. But again, its not me you have to worry about because its really on the bottom of the list of issues I care about.