I just want to avoid anymore 'special people' special citizen groups. I pay for too many of those right now. One reason this country is in trouble. We need to to start pulling our head out when it comes to PC madness and get back to individual accountability. Fairness based on your own personal actions.

So, if as some individuals contened, homosexuality is a choice, please answer me this... Why would anyone choose to do it faced with such anger, hate, and vile agreesion toward such a "choice"? Why would any child "choose" to put him/herself in a position to be further ostrisized from society and the "cultural norm"?

I would suppor that there are always individuals willing to push the social norm and act out in spite of all the negativities, but those individuals are few and far between. For such a large subset of humanity to make such a "choice" is absurd at best.

Reality - it is a genetic trait. Sexuality is a spectrum and not a absolute.

Pruitt said: “We didn’t have a discussion here about what happens inside your home."

"So we are not going to join Rev. Coghill's legislative congregation and address spending millions on sending children to religious schools, nor reproductive rights. Because how you practice religion, and what you do with your body- is up to you."

Or on a personal vendetta? Did posing the same question to the minority that garnered chuckles from the majority have more to do with covering the spectrum with fair reporting or was it more of a vindication for the embarrassment of bringing the subject up in a non-contextual discussion and sounding like an idiot? By practicing your delivery on Friday, you certainly gave Beth and company time to rehearse for the same question. What gives me great pause is the adament push to politicize sexuality and to sexualize politics. To mix the two is to cheapen both regardless of which way you swing.

Oddly I would support some of what you are saying. I don't really think sexuality should really play into politics (heck look at our representatives would make me loose any [filtered word] right off the bat). The issue is simply a matter of civil rights and equality (not sexual orientation). I, as a legally sane adult am able to enter into a binding contract with a women (note marriage is a separate religious construct in my mind). Why should I not be able to enter into such a contract with a man, if I so choose?

All things being equal one [filtered word] and vagina does not a sound contrat make (I'm married I know). The entire basis of this fight against same sex unions is based solely on religiou or fear. It can't be based on sound reasoning and objective assessment.

Even if being gay is a choice, what difference would that make? I chose my wife and she chose me. It shouldn't matter if she chose a women and I chose a man, should it?

What intellectual reasoning would you have beyond "I don't wanna"?

Rosa Parks couldn't leave her skin color in her bedroom.

JE - can we get a list of the filtered words? I know a bunch of swear words are on it but vagina isn't yet the male member "[filtered word]" is?

Don't want to use too many of the bad ones ya know?

I disagree. I do not think a 50 year old pedophile should be allowed to marry an 8 year old. Laugh now, but that debate WILL be coming sooner than you think. NAMBLA is a real organization.

You are looking at my point through predjudiced eyes. Step outside your preconcieved notions for a moment and consider the concept(s) of choice. Rosa Parks lived in the skin she was born with. She had no choice in that matter. At home, in public, on the bus, Rosa was black. It wasn't her choice. It wasn't a fault. It was simply her skin color afforded her by the genetics of her "race". She had to wear her skin where ever she went just like everybody else. Now, how she behaved in the privacy of her own home with her spouse/partner was her/their choice. It doesn't matter if she cohabited with a man, a woman, herself or no one at all. That was her choice that she could leave in the secrecy of her bedroom as she rushed out to the bus stop. She didn't have to disclose her favorite position in bed to function in public. Moreover, the public doesn't need to know and really doesn't want to know. Why would she choose to tell them? My "diatribe", as you refer to it, is about the overall non-relevance of ones sexual preference to public debate. Consentual relations that hurt no one outside that relationship should remain unspoken. I don't condone someone running around shouting "I'm gay and proud of it!" any more than I would someone yelling "I'm a [filtered word] and available!" In either case, my response is "Please! Spare me the information!" I don't think I'm alone in that attitude. It doesn't make me biggoted. It doesn't make me insensitive. I just find the flaunting of sexual preference distasteful and unnecessary.

I slightly agree skirkz. Except there are real injustices still on many levels and the only way to correct those would be to speak out about it. Make it part of the discussion. A friend of mine happened upon a gay pride parade in Washington a few years ago and was 'disgusted'. But because of that we had a conversation about equal rights and the difference between seperate but equal, unions as opposed to marriage. At the very least my friend and I have a better understanding of each other because of all the flaunting. So while I see your point and to my own point there are something's that I feel test the boundaries of public appropriateness, this is about equal rights and discrimination. So I throw my weight behind that crowd because until we stop discriminating against people, it's going to be in the public eye, as it should.

What is the limit of "flaunting" in your eyes? When we meet each other, as people in a community, several basic questions are usually asked. "What do you do for work?", "Do you have any kids?", "Where do you live?", "Are you married?", "What does your wife/husband do?", and so forth. Normal questions. If the answer a man gives is: "My husband is an accountant." is that flaunting?

Introducing one's spouse, -normal. Going to the movies/theater/art show/mall together, - normal. Having your spouse's picture on your desk - normal. Being able to make decisions for your spouse if they are hospitalized and incapacitated - normal. Receiving Social Security benefits if your spouse dies - normal.

How is any of this "Flaunting" simply because both people are the same sex? These things aren't beyond what any normal heterosexual couple would do or expect.

I would respond to you that flaunting would constitute advertising the fact and making an issue out of it. I live and let live. It may suprise you to know that I have gay friends. Who doesn't? It doesn't get in the way of our friendship. Why would it? They don't grope me. Neither do my straight friend's wives. Our friendships aren't based on sexual preference. As it should be. But, if they want a debate, which most friends don't, I can and will accommodate. If they want a fight, which most friends don't. I'll recuse myself (unless attacked). To me, sexual preference is a non-issue, as it should be. But, the media stirs up the controversy and I weigh in. That's what the Empire wants. Apparently, I'm not the only one that gets suckered in. Good job, Mark! You gotta feel proud!

would "advertising" be putting your spouse's picture on your desk? Holding hands with them at a gallery opening? How exactly would one avoid "advertising" who their life partner is? Do you leave your wife at home so you are not seen with her, and never ever mention her in public?

And if one of those things could get you fired, wouldn't you "make an issue" of it? Or would you just be quiet, if you were being treated differently than your peers, for simply loving one person?

If sexual preference was truly a "non-issue", as you say it should be, then wouldn't it be true that no one would be denied work, a rental apartment, bank loan, hospital visitation, or a marraige certificate because of it?

who should shut up?

Are you saying a gay couple should spend their lives lying to their bosses, their friends - not putting their family photos on the desk, never being seen together in public......?

Frankly, I am surprised you have gay friends, and I can't help but wonder if they know your true feelings. Why on earth should your friends who are gay "shut up"? Would you expect your straight friends to "shut up" about their spouses?

'm not surprised, however, that you're avoiding and misdirecting at this point.

I suspect, Skirkz, that they have simply learned tact and do not bother to bring up a topic that would provoke this sort of "discussion" with someone with such strongly opposing views.

Amusingly, it seems this is a lesson that only those who are in some way marginalized are pressured to learn as a matter of course.