Gay Marriage Pledge Sparks Uproar in Dallas

Mayor Rawlins.... Don't sign the petition... If you do... You can kiss the mayorship goodbye.

[QUOTE who="dont do it!!!"]Mayor Rawlins.... Don't sign the petition... If you do... You can kiss the mayorship goodbye.[/QUOTE]

I hope bigotry doesn't run that deep in Dallas? Do the right thing and sign the petition governor. Equality is for all and you should be supporting it!

sign it

Whatever happened to constitutional rights? He has the right to decide what he will or won't personally support. He has no constitutional authority anyway to allow or forbid gay marriage.

I didn't like the anti-Marriage Equality Pledge the right wing was pushing, and I don't like this one. Politicians pledge to support the Constitution of the U. S., and their individual state. If they don't live up to that pledge, then just vote them out. He says he supports us, and that, along with what he does is all a voter should need.

Why do gays have to marry? What happen to civil union, does that give them some rights too?

I think the gays should take it a step at a time. By that I mean, agree to the civil union status until the powers that be are able to grant you all marriage status. I am a Christian who believe in rights for all, and though I do not believe in homosexual behavior, I still believe that each man or woman is entitled to live as they think they want to live, and in doing that I believe that they should be given the opportunity like everyone else to live because it is the decent thing to do. Civil union would be good for the moment, why not consider accepting that for the moment?

If the Mayor refuses to sign the petition, just let him. He is the mayor. If I were the mayor I would not sign it either but I would formulate something else that would give gays and lesbians the rights to live their lives, hence the civil union.

Ginger wrote:

Why do gays have to marry? What happen to civil union, does that give them some rights too?

Hopefully your naivety is not indicative of your sensibility.(as we say down in Texas... bless her heart!)
Would you feel better if you were "allowed" to walk 2 feet behind your man (or partner) or do you feel your rightful place would be next to them as their equal. Does it sound right that you (as a female) be allowed to vote on some minor matters/or elections but none that really mattered?
It's like being pregnant. You either are, or you are not. GLBT's are either treated equally, or they are not.
Today there is NOT equality and the right to marry is one (major) step in a long overdue process.

Ginger wrote:

I think the gays should take it a step at a time. By that I mean, agree to the civil union status until the powers that be are able to grant you all marriage status. I am a Christian who believe in rights for all, and though I do not believe in homosexual behavior, I still believe that each man or woman is entitled to live as they think they want to live, and in doing that I believe that they should be given the opportunity like everyone else to live because it is the decent thing to do. Civil union would be good for the moment, why not consider accepting that for the moment?

You would accept YOUR rights in steps? Civil Unions do not confer on the indiviuals all the rights that heterosexuals get when they "tie the knot". We would get limited rights, and it would not even be valid state-to-state. Would you want THAT for your marriage?

RalphB wrote:

<quoted text>You would accept YOUR rights in steps? Civil Unions do not confer on the indiviuals all the rights that heterosexuals get when they "tie the knot". We would get limited rights, and it would not even be valid state-to-state. Would you want THAT for your marriage?

not talking about my rights here Ralph... I'm hetero...normal folks get the normal rights... Not sure as a begger that any homo can be a chooser!

That's his freedom to choose being the mayor of Dallas. Down the path a new generation builds their lives with movements that herald radical secularism in society. While these days the popular culture for same-sex union provides us with the icon reference for secularism when we are confronted with other evil addictions such as alcohol, craving for power and money, vindictive behavior, abortion, hatred, etc, let our moral values be more Christ-oriented in our lives and in the lives of others. Peace!

I wish him well. May God bless our country, America!

fr ginger:

>...I am a Christian who believe in rights for all, and though I do not believe in homosexual behavior...<

Obviously, you DON'T believe "in rights for all", as your statement rather blatantly screams. Get a clue, and grow UP.

Ginger wrote:

Civil union would be good for the moment, why not consider accepting that for the moment?

I think as a strictly strategic matter this would have made sense ten years ago, and is actually a tactic that is being pursued in many states which will not accept marriage equality at this time.

But since we already have about ten percent of the states and the entire democratic, industrialized West with marriage equality the cat is now out of the bag.

Of course you know, or should, that civil unions do not remain in force when traveling abroad or to a state without them, and do not offer over 1000 federal rights that marriage does.

It's too bad that various factors pre dating marriage equality led to 50+% divorce rates and to women getting married later and later in life. Because marriage as an institution is in distress, or rather, families are.

mark_escobar_1025 wrote:

That's his freedom to choose being the mayor of Dallas

And he may and can and will be called out as a bigot, since there's no rational reason to prevent marriage equality.

Ginger wrote:

Why do gays have to marry? What happen to civil union, does that give them some rights too?

Marriage establishes kinship; civil unions do not
.
Marriage is comprehended worldwide; civil unions stop at the state line
.
The $35 marriage license carries with it 1,138 rights, benefits, and privileges valued at $467,562 over the lifetime of a married couple; civil unions do not
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/03/your-money/...

Ginger wrote:

I think the gays should take it a step at a time. By that I mean, agree to the civil union status until the powers that be are able to grant you all marriage status. I am a Christian who believe in rights for all, and though I do not believe in homosexual behavior, I still believe that each man or woman is entitled to live as they think they want to live, and in doing that I believe that they should be given the opportunity like everyone else to live because it is the decent thing to do. Civil union would be good for the moment, why not consider accepting that for the moment?

Religious institutions can make any rules they want for their members; but not for others
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This is why churches don't sell marriage licenses
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Marriage licenses are sold only by county courthouses and city halls. Religion is not required
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Judges and Justices of the Peace perform marriages; sometimes for free. No preacher needed
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Here's why:
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This is to assure equal access to marriage for people with no religion; and for Hindus; Jews; Buddhists; mormons; and Muslims. Marriage is not exclusive to Christians and fundies whose rules only apply to themselves
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Gay people already have religious weddings in our own churches across America and in 42 nations. Founded just 17 years after the King James Bible c.1611; the oldest church in America c.1628 is still owned and operated by gay people today
http://middlechurch.org/about/history
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So religious marriage is not the issue here
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We are crusading for the right to purchase a $35 *civil marriage* license from the county courthouse. The $35 pays for having our family history recorded in courthouse geneology records so the government can acknowlege our citizenship and equalize our civil rights

Ginger wrote:

If the Mayor refuses to sign the petition, just let him. He is the mayor. If I were the mayor I would not sign it either but I would formulate something else that would give gays and lesbians the rights to live their lives, hence the civil union.

Of course, a Civil Union doesn't confer even half of the protections to a family that marriage certificate does.

[QUOTE who="dont do it!!!"]<quoted text>
not talking about my rights here Ralph... I'm hetero...normal folks get the normal rights... Not sure as a begger that any homo can be a chooser![/QUOTE]

Your rights are not given to you. Rights are yours by the fact you were born human (we assum, and either born a citizen or became a citizen of the U.S. The USSC has stated that marriage is a basic civil right of all citizens. Therefore I have a right to marry my spouse. And we are not begging for them, we are demanding them. Oh, and by the way, its "beggar" not "begger".