I don't get it. Can someone enlighten me on this issue?
Seems to be a big issue now. When I was growing up, learning about the world. The homosexual people I knew made a point about being different, but were looking for a society where they were accepted and acknowledged for their contribution by the wider community.
I think they are well and truly accepted and acknowledged for their contribution to broader society now.
The thing I don't get is, now that they've achieved their goal, they want to be the same as the rest of us heterosexual plebs, they no longer want to be seen as any different to the rest of us.
I'm biased, in that I think you choose to be homosexual, I don't think people are born wired to be homosexual. Why is homosexual marriage such a big deal?
Is the homosexual marriage debate to do with legal rights over children or is it something else?
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Thinking more about my post, it's clear that this is just another distraction that the illuminate have designed to prevent me thinking about real issues.
I also just don't get it. Why can't they get married? How on earth does it make any difference to everyone else?
adolf, you are a brave soul to be opening up this subject.
I don't completely agree with you when you say:-
"I'm biased, in that I think you choose to be homosexual, I don't think people are born wired to be homosexual."
Some people are born with chromosomal imbalances or peculiarities that manifest physically and mentally resulting in homosexual or lesbian behaviour. I have the greatest respect for these people as they face an internal sexual identity battle that must cause great trauma for them.
Those I believe are only a small percentage of the so called "gay community". The rest I believe make a concious choice to be homosexual or lesbian, for whatever moralistic excuse they can think up, and then, because they know they should not be behaving that way, think that by shoving it up in every-bodies face and saying it is normal behaviour, they are justified.
The push for "Gay Marriage Rights" is just shoving it in peoples faces on a grander scale.
Heterosexual couples don't normally go around in public feeling each other up and neither should same sex couples.
Gay people should be able to experience the same things as other married people in the wider community. It's only fair.
They should be able to invite 200 family and friends to a celebration and expect a great response.
If the happy couple call the celebration a 'Civil Union' only 80 will rock up.
But hey, call it a 'Wedding' and the lucky couple will discover that everyone they invited will want to go. This has been happening since the born of time. All Humans know that Weddings have endless amounts of free beer and free food. And like moths to a flame....
Short term popularity and the extravagant 50 grand credit card bill will follow. Now that's equality.
Then as a happily married couple in an egalitarian society they will discover that the stay at home married Partner will now get harassed by Centrelink.
Centrelink will explain that in a marriage the income earned by the working partner cancels out nearly all the benefits that the non-working partner was receiving before getting hitched.
Equal rights, it's a 2 sided coin!
Probably got more to do with the fact XXXXX church don't support same sex marriage and the government did acknowledge it The major XXXXX church would be deemed "discriminative" by same sex couples.
I support acknowledgement of same sex couples but i think they may and try and rewrite traditional wedding values of the XXXXXX church. IF they are accomodated already with a religion that supports the same sex marriage it should be honored .
I think alot of politicians are traditional churchies and probally dont want it in.
As mentioned above by Elroy it will be interesting when Centrelink gets involved. All those female sole parents living with their girlfriends and stay at home blokes living with their boyfriends. It will save the taxpayers a bit of coin.
It would be better to depoliticise the issue by giving communities and individuals the power to decide who can get married and who can't, rather than the state.
Interesting as the institution of marriage becomes less important overall in society with heaps of people living in defacto relationships, it seems some homosexuals are prepared to die in the ditch to get it.
As the saying goes "I think they should have the right to get married so they can be miserable like everyone else" 
As I said in the last thread about this I am strongly against it being called marriage as it is NOT marriage and never can be - but if they want to hook up and have a legal union then go for it
Totally against a right to have kids though and that is one of the stumbling blocks to gay marriage - will they have equal rights to adopt children who are then raised with no mum or dad influence.
What about these adopted children ?
Do they have something do say ?
What about their rights to be raised in family they do prefer ?
Orphanage is not a "dogs pond" ....
Could such child could take the action to the court when grow up - like stolen generations did ?
IMO HS could do whatether they want as long it is not effect other people life directly.
(shaking head that I'm even getting involved...)
few points you guys seem to be missing
1. Centrelink already treats gay de facto / hetero de facto / hetero married in exactly the same ways, it's only when 1 partner dies or is sick that the legal status is significantly different - and significantly to the detriment of gay couples
2. if being gay is a 'choice' are you all saying that you feel you could make that choice? That you could choose not only the sex part but to fall in love with and make a home with a member of your sex. I don't think I could, it's just not the way I'm wired.
3. Lots of gay couples (especially) women already have children, it's harder for men and I doubt the legal status of being married will make it any easier for gay men to 'acquire' children. It's already almost impossible to adopt Australian children and very very difficult to adopt from overseas.
4. Not all gay people want the same things, some may want (or have wanted) to be "different", lots and lots and lots want to be the same. For some but not all this means marriage
5. I don't think that you can say that gay people are truly accepted until they have exactly the same rights as everyone else. This includes the right to marry. Civil unions etc are still different and seen as inferior.
6. Yes I think it is inevitable that gay marriage rights will be passed, and that soon enough a gay couple will want to be married in a church and there will be legal action and the traditionals will squeal and carry on blah blah blah
You know that immense feeling of relief you have when you pass a particularly large poo...?
All that pain and strain and feeling like you're being split open from the inside out...,
And then when it's done, just that feeling of relief...
That it hadn't killed you, you don't require stitches and it's finally out of you finished and gone..?
That's what I imagine gay sex to be like...
It's not the plugging away at their butt that they crave...
It's that feeling of relief they get when it's finally over.
As a society, if we really want To afford people that harm themselves for the sensation of cessation from harm the same rights, we'd lock homosexuals up in the loony bin along with teenagers who cut themselves for attention and people who buy enya cd's
As for lesbians... They're just a bunch of ugly man haters....,
It's not societies fault you're ugly and you can't get a root...
(it's your parents')
One exeption to the HS having children should be allowed 
cloning - when available 
assuming that this same genotype will be happy to be raised in similar , well known environment...
but I am not so sure even about that (that genes describe HS deviation )
aw come on guys,
if 2 kiters want to commit in a beautiful union then i say why not.
For 1000's of years (prehistory) men and women have been committing themselves to one another, creating a social bond in order to raise a family.
Then at the turn of the 20th century Freudian psychoanalysis came about, and certain individuals, and collectives decided to break the family unit in order to create their vision of society; one where the father is the state.
Naturally most people rejected it, and so they decided to break the family unit through subversive initiatives.
Gay marriage is just 1 of many of those initiatives.
Divorce incentives, sexual equality, social services, children suing, minimize family interaction, children's rights, rampant pornography...
Yeah I know this all happened by itself, nobody planned it from a cave in Afghanistan... go watch MTV, there's a doco of a couple of homos adopting kids, and drink some coolaid.
I love watching the religious lobby on TV droning on about the sanctity of marriage. I really think they need to get down to the family law courts at about 10 in the morning to watch the sanctity in action.
If some people are hard wired to be homosexual, then other people must be wired to be murderers, thieves, humanitarians or whatever. If people are hard wired to act a certain way, why can't this be determined at birth?
Given that out of the few people who choose to be gay and that not all of them want the same things. It must be a very tiny percentage of the general population wanting this marriage thing.
Why is it such a big issue, why is it so important to only a few people? I don't think gay marriage will ever get up. I'd rather our government take better care of people with real disabilities, rather than a few outspoken people who choose to live a certain lifestyle.
The few homosexuals who want to get married and have children that badly should become hetrosexual.
As I've said before....
"I'm in favour of gay marriages....
.... as long as both chicks are hot!" 
wow. i'm ashamed to read this forum at times.
it's a reminder of just how backward so many people still are.
^^^ not funny doctor don't go there..
I had a few gay male friends. I never had a problem, just a little bit weird watching the 2 being a normal couple on the lounge -- but you get used to it. Never tried nothing om me and where good people.
They talked about children and said it was not a problem to not have any. Never talked about marriage.
What I have found is Males keep it quiet and do not really bother anyone, it's the female's that like to make a song and dance where ever they go and you can see yourself when you go out. The guy's quiet - clean - generally more sophisticated. The female's rough - loud - very loud - alway's stir the guys only to tell them to fxxx off when they think (flamming dreaming) "I'll convert her you watch".
Marriage yes - and people who say no why? and don't say religion[}:)]
like Mark said IMO Children should be a no no.
Hard enough for children at school. Go back 15-20 years and it still would have been difficult.
all his mates say,,you lucky bastard,my missus wont let me???
(...and what, exactly, does that mean? )
yeah well, unless you got a contract with jim rose...
hemaphrodite ain't quite natural either, well it might occur naturally but human(sic) evolution ain't built upon it
