Gay Marriage Debate - Cedar City, UT

Separation of Church and state. If a church doesn't want to marry them fine. But the country shouldn't have control over their desire to marry in general. We need to not be so ignorant and just coexist in equality and harmony.

To those of you that want to force others to believe as you, try convincing other American denominations that accept, embrace homosexual members of the congregation and clergy:
United Church of Christ
Unity School of Christianity
Most Church of the Brethren groups
many but not all Anglican, United Methodist, Northern Baptist, and Congregational groups.
Reform Judaism
Conservative Egalitarian
Judaism
Reconstructionist JUDAISM
Metropolitan Community Church
Association of Welcoming Affirming Baptists
Ecumenical Catholic Church
International Chrisitian Community Churches
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
US Episcopal Church
Global Allian of Affirming Apostolic Pentecostals
Restoration Church of Jesus Christ (Latter Day Saint denomination)
United Church of Canada
USA Presbyterian Church
In Europe, the following denominations accept embrace homosexuality in it's members clergy :
Evangelical Church in Germany
Swiss Reformed Church
Protestant Church - Netherlands
Church of Denmark
Church of Norway
Church of Sweden
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland
Church of Iceland
The following are specific churchs that are open, accepting & embrace homosexuals as congregants and clergy :
Bethlehem Community, Faithful Companions of St. Francis religious community within Ecumenical Catholic Church (Liverpool, England)
Broadway United Methodist Church (Indianapolis, IN)
Cathedral of Hope (Dallas, Texas, USA)
Community Parish of St Bernadette Liverpool - congregation of Ecumenical Catholic Church (Liverpool, England)
Glide Memorial Church (San Francisco, California, USA)
Most Holy Redeemer Catholic Church (San Francisco, California, USA)
Grace Gospel Chapel (Seattle, Washington, USA)
Light of Love Fellowship (St. Louis, Missouri, USA)
Pullen Memorial Baptist Church (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA)
Tong-Kwang Light House Presbyterian Church (Taipei, Taiwan)
University Baptist Church (Austin, Texas, USA)
St. Paul's Anglican Church (Vancouver, BC)
Wake Forest Baptist Church (Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA)
Walnut Creek United Methodist Church (Walnut Creek, California, USA)
Broadway Baptist Church - Ft. Worth, TX.

And finally, the crux of the issues at hand are secular laws, not biblical laws. there are over 1100 priviliges granted to legally married couple according to the GAO that are not extended to homosexual couples. this only creates legal issues and court cases - and the only people that get rich from that are the attornies...besides that, our courts are busy and entrenched enough in other civil matters like divorces in heterosexual marriages, suing our neighbors because we don't like them, etc....

it's simple. we as tax paying american citizens are either equal or we're not. i don't know about you, but i follow the constitution and believe we're all created equal and should be treated as such. after all, we're living here and choosing to live under our constitution.

I am tired of the Gay marriage debate. Nobody says that gay people can't have relationships it's just not considered marriage. Do they want the tax breaks? Because they're pretty much treated equal in the site of the law in terms of employment. Should they be allowed to marry and call it marriage? Probably. But the fact i don't we have bigger things to concern ourselves about? The economy, debt, the real estate problem, affordable health care, crime, drug issues, war, it seems that this issue just isn't important when you look at the big picture, because one way or another this won't effect me in my day to day life.

Hey Jeff,

A recent CNN & Gallop Poll both showed 52% of Americans now support marriage equality.

Support for marriage equality has been growing significantly, over the past 10 years, in every single state, except for one. Guess which one?

Yep - Utah, is the only state in the Union that hasn't shown double-digit growth in support for marriage equality.

LOL - thought you might get a kick out of that stat.

Opinions evolve, and grow - but apparently, not in Utah.

Jeff Robinson wrote:

I am tired of the Gay marriage debate. Nobody says that gay people can't have relationships it's just not considered marriage. Do they want the tax breaks? Because they're pretty much treated equal in the site of the law in terms of employment. Should they be allowed to marry and call it marriage? Probably. But the fact i don't we have bigger things to concern ourselves about? The economy, debt, the real estate problem, affordable health care, crime, drug issues, war, it seems that this issue just isn't important when you look at the big picture, because one way or another this won't effect me in my day to day life.

Gay couples are denied more than 1,100 legal rights that legally married couples can receive, including Social Security Survivors benefits, tax breaks (no, they can't get them under current law), hospital visitation rights, burial rights, inheritance rights, custodial rights, and the list goes on and on.

You said that this issue won't affect you, so why put up any opposition toward it? The sooner gay men and women enjoy equality under the law, the sooner you don't have to hear about legal fights over gay marriage.

Jeff Robinson wrote:

I am tired of the Gay marriage debate. Nobody says that gay people can't have relationships it's just not considered marriage. Do they want the tax breaks? Because they're pretty much treated equal in the site of the law in terms of employment. Should they be allowed to marry and call it marriage? Probably. But the fact i don't we have bigger things to concern ourselves about? The economy, debt, the real estate problem, affordable health care, crime, drug issues, war, it seems that this issue just isn't important when you look at the big picture, because one way or another this won't effect me in my day to day life.

Jeff - Happy HOlidays.

And BTW: I agree with you - we are living in a time where we have huge problems, and fighting against equality and inclusion really is ridiculous.

I support fair civil rights for all U.S. Citizens. This is an inevitable reality that backward ill informed bigots need to understand better and make peace with the reality. In 1962 it was still common to hear people in the U.S. and Mormon enclaves state that interracial marriage or equal rights for women or blacks or other minorities were not sanctioned by their God. Fortunately those sorts of attitudes are shameful enough to hold to that most bigots know enough to keep such ignorance to themselves. I suspect in the not too distant future bigotry against the GLBT community will be as shameful as it is against people of other races or cultures. I look forward to a world where my kids and grandkids can openly embrace their gay cousins or friends without having to distance themselves the way many LDS do from their loved ones now. Someday this will be just one more dark part of the past that we evolve beyond.

everyone should be able to marry any other person despite their sexual preferences.

JILL wrote:

<quoted text> they should if they are male and female not male, male, female, female I don't want children to know what these are its wrong and nasty.. read the bible it says its abombination to god him self its wrong what the hell don't you people understand.. GOD SAYS ITS WRONG.... IF YOU THINK ITS RIGHT YOU BELONG IN HELL

If I can't go to heaven just because i'm in love, then i can't wait to go to hell where i will be accepted :P

http://www.youtube.com/user/ldspublicaffairs...

Everyone has the right to love.

Barbara Hart wrote:

Two penises don't procreate, nor do 2 vagina's, easy enough... dumb asses

and there are plenty of male and female married couples who either chose not to have children or are unable to have children, should they have their rights taken away from them as well simply from the fact that they cannot procreate together?

JILL wrote:

<quoted text> they should if they are male and female not male, male, female, female I don't want children to know what these are its wrong and nasty.. read the bible it says its abombination to god him self its wrong what the hell don't you people understand.. GOD SAYS ITS WRONG.... IF YOU THINK ITS RIGHT YOU BELONG IN HELL

i respect you right to have these views. However respect my right to tell you to shove it. The "religious" opposition to gay marriage is a joke. I'm sorry but it is, all you are doing is picking and choosing what parts of the Bible happen to "support" your argument, without even thinking about. Remember not everyone believes in God, not everyone believes in God the same way.
Plus I feel sorry for your children, current or future, for being reared with a narrow minded view with the option to think for themselves taken out of the equation.
We talk about equality for EVERYONE, for every race, religion, sexuality and philosophy, whether you are homosexual, heterosexual, pansexual, asexual, transgender, cisgender, black, white, tan, peach, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, and everything in between. We do not threaten your exsistence and rights, we just want to be treated with every right and respect that comes from being human.
If I'm going to hell for believing in that with all my being, than so be it.

If two adults love each other and want a recognized, committed relationship, who am I (or anyone else) to say they can't, or that it can't be called marriage? Many churches do not recognize marriages performed outside their church; does that give them the right to say I (or you) are not married? Just because someone does not feel two people are or should be married doesn't mean that they have the right to force that feeling on others.

people will love who they love. who am i to judge?

Nikki wrote:

Marriage is between a Man and Women.

Currently. In some states.

JILL wrote:

<quoted text> they should if they are male and female not male, male, female, female I don't want children to know what these are its wrong and nasty.. read the bible it says its abombination to god him self its wrong what the hell don't you people understand.. GOD SAYS ITS WRONG.... IF YOU THINK ITS RIGHT YOU BELONG IN HELL

Do you know what else the bible says is an abomination.

Wearing poly-blend clothing
using birth control
having sex with a woman on her period
eating shell fish
...etc...
If you are going to say one thing is an abomination, lets not pick and choose.

PLUS, I don't know if we read the same book, but I don't recall too much about lesbians in the bible. Mostly because women in the bible....were sold for money and treated like slaves and all in all didn't matter to much because it was a different TIME and SOCIETY. Weird how things change....

You know what's sad. Its that people who seem so "holy" don't love one another and would rather judge people instead.

I bet some of the same "religious" arguments were used during slavery, holocaust, and the civil rights movement of women and people of different races.

Isn't it funny how ignorance repeats it self...over and over.