I think gays should have the same rights as you and I. They're just like everybody else; love doesn't change just because it's between two people of the same sex. You marry someone because you love them, so why shouldn't gays be allowed to marry? Gay people can make good parents, so why shouldn't they adopt children? 'Normality' is only defined by us as human beings; what's abnormal for you might be very normal for others. You might find it disgusting to have two fathers or two mothers but some kids who have same-sex parents might be okay with it. So what if homosexuals can't reproduce? Reproduction is not the issue here. If you're going to use that as your argument, you might as well say sex is only for pro-creation (which we all know it's not). Gays don't want special treatment, they only want fair treatment. That is, not to be stereotyped, outcast or looked down upon as lepers.
Best arguement I've seen in this whole topic. I think you said it better than anyone managed to. Especially the sex is not only for pro-creation. Now they don't even have a real arguement to go on.
I agree with the majority here--Homosexuals should get the exact same rights has hetrosexuals. I'm not going to go on the full rant though, because Anya, Will, RadicalDreamer and many others have done it already. What I will ask though is, do you think the younger generation is more open minded to homosexuality then the older generation? The subject has come up here, on the AFI MB, and just within my groups of friends and the majority seem to be in favor of gay rights. So...do you think the younger generation is more openminded? Do you think it primarily has to do with religion? Geographical location? Discuss.
I'm not too sure if "Generation X" is more open-minded. In any case, they're more close-minded. In school anymore, kids use the word "gay" as an insult, and they mock homosexuals with every chance they get. My friends aren't that bad, except for one friend who will remain nameless. He claims that "homosexuality is a mental disorder and they shouldn't have any rights" and that "they should be locked up." Needless to say, I disagree with him highly. As for other people in my school, they, as I said, throw the word "gay" around as an insult and they mock homosexuals all the time.
I don't think the generation we or any other really matters. It all matters on what individuals look upon as their 'lead' into what they believe. Some are into religion, and in the bible it states homosexuality is wrong (I think), and then there are those who have discriminative parents, so they learn that way. But overall, in the end, it's what the individual thinks. I grew up in a society where being a homosexual was wrong, especially as a youngin, but as we all grew up, we matured a bit, but not all of us, and what do you know, the homosexuals in my school are popular, though I know it's not like that everywhere else in the world. I think that it all depends on a person, because really, that's how I've gone about it. In my environment, I should have grown to be a homosexual-hater, but viewing things from other perspectives than those around me portray, I see no wrong in it. I guess it also depends on the mind-set and care for the situation where if a child really is concerned, they'll either question it or try to forget it. Even if a child were to have the same-sex for parents, who's to say that those cannot be as great as others? Half the world only lives with one parent now days anyways (more or less). I, as a person, would much less be hurt with one parent than two no matter the 'hook-up'. I think for future generations, especially now, I believe homosexual's differences will be much more slim seeing that more are coming out in public and are proud of it (which is great) and that even with the worse things said, they still live thier lives. I think if the 'media' which is a strong 'tool' to today's public continues to (not exploit, but) show people there's nothing wrong with homosexuals and themsevles, perhaps our future generations will then see, you know, they're like anyone else and need the same treatment as heterosexuals. This, like said before, is just like racism. Before it was a very big thing, but as years progressed, the grudges (yet still there) have really slimmed down and you see that these races can get along, now why can't we do the same with the different attractions we may have?
Black people fought for 200 years for their equal share of rights, when they finally got it in the 60's and 70's, they were still discriminated, and are today. To be honest, I think this will take almost as long as that to be ruled out. It's sad...really. Like Alacrity, I'm the same way. I think that gays have their rights, privelages sometimes, and even express their feelings openly. Then, I think they're wrong and disgusting the next.
Gays and Lesbians are humans. They are exactly the same as you and me. Just as you might prefer the color red, a man might prefer another man. You dont get called something special cause you liked red, a man shouldnt be called something special just cause he prefers another man. And its non of your business what some guy or girl does in his or her bedroom. It's really ignorant to discriminate against a gay person. I also dont think "Generation X" is more open. As long as people are all the same, yeah were open, but the moment someone acts different this person "had a bad childhood" or "just needs a little attention". Maybe they're different becasue they're sick of people acting the same all the time. So no, i dont think this generation is more open to anything.
That's funny, but a bit dogmatic. About what i said before, it's not that i think gay people are not humans etc. I only think they shouldn't be able to adopt children, not because they are bad parents, but because their children will simply grow in an abnormal environment. In a study in Holland (the most liberal country about such issues), 80 gay couples (both male and female) adopted a child each. 56 of those kids ended up being isolated in society, NOT because other kids laughed at them, but because they felt like being in a foreign world. And to make my thoughts complete, think about this: everything in nature has a purpose. And God (or whoever or whatever made this world) enabled a man to have children with a woman, not another male. That's nature, good or bad, and we must follow it. I still believe gay ppl must have the same rights as us, except for that adoption thing i discussed about, i'm not homophobic.
Just like everyone else, I believe Gays and Lesbians should be treated equally, allowed to marry, not discriminated against, and not labeled. It's completely hypocritical how all these priests who sexually molested little boys are now refusing to allow homosexuals to marry in their churches. They're people too, and now because their sexual preferences differ from others, they're hated upon. It's completely asinine. Now one thing I don't particularly enjoy about some homosexuals is how they tend to rub it in others faces. I mean, you can be proud of being a homosexual, but when you're parading down the street naked with others, it's a little too much. "You're gay, that's perfectly fine. But do I really want to know?" You get what I mean. That wasn't supposed to be homophobic at all, I'm never homophobic. One last thing, and this may be a little off topic, but; homophobic slurs make absolutely no sense to me! When people throw the word "gay" around in deregatory sense at other people and some situations, what exactly are they trying to say? It's the most pointless attempt at an insult I've ever heard, and it makes the accuser look like a moron. I think at a certain age, people grow out of the homophobic remarks, but when I see 16 and 18 and 20 year olds still using it, it makes me ask what their parents did to them to make them so braindead. Oi. Edit: About that adopting discussion. The individual (child) should be the one who decides if he or she was gay. They shouldn't be pressured by the homosexual parents to be gay. Just how homosexuals come from families with a mother and father, the child would be the one who decides his or her sexual preferences. But yes, they should be allowed to adopt if they get all the other rights of a human being, they'd just have to obey that invisible rule.
Phantom, why are you so worried about children being adopted by a homosexual and turning out to be an abnormal child? If they were, they probably wouldn't be wierd about it at all. When a child is born, they have seen NOTHING from the real world. Soon as they develop, they get used to their surroundings. The exact same way as how a child adapts to walking, talking, eating, and laughing. They'll adapt to homosexuals together as they grow and achieve more in their life just as they would the same if they had a mother and father instead. It actually may even be better that way anyways. At least the child won't grow up thinking that homosexuality is wrong. Sure, the kid may be picked on at school because they have gay parents but there ARE people in this world that are caring I hope you know. There are people that create group communities for children that have gay parents and they can talk about how they feel on the subject and even manage to get new friends. Theire are plenty ways to give a child a normal life, even with gay parents. You don't have to have heterosexual parents to do that.
Exactly. Their surrounding is a family where either the father's or the mother's instinct is absent. They will adapt to homosexuals. However, i talked about it being difficult for them to adapt to the rest of the world, which is the normal word (in physical terms). Again, i'm not talking about community accepting these children or their being grown correctly by their parents. It's the fact that these children will grow up in an environment which is not the human's natural one, unless a man or woman chooses to live within it. Homosexuals have that right, but they don't have the right to force children to live in an incomplete family.
Just because a child may have 2 gay parents, it doesn't automatically mean the child would be gay, he may and probably will turn out straight. All the gay people out there have a mom and dad, had straight parents growing up, and they are gay. The parents would have very little, if any, effect on what sexual orientation the kid turned out to be.
And, just because the parents are homosexuals does NOT mean that the child will grow up abnormally. That's just asinine to think. Saying they are bad parents would be a slap to their faces, especially since they take care of their children WAY better than heterosexual parents do.
I still don't agree with you Phantom on a children living an abnormal life because of gay parents. Although, you do have your views, so i'm not gonna go against what you think. But just because a child has homosexual parents who adopted him/her doesn't mean they'll live an abnormal life through the outside world or..whatever world it is. It doesn't matter. There are people who will accept it. Even if they do live abnormally or different, to them it will be probably be normal, because they're used to it. You never know.
Good point. I believe things happen for a reason, as clichéd as this may sound, so you never know, a kid might be very happy with his homosexual parents. Like I said, what's normal for you might not be normal for others (and vice versa) so it really depends on the individual child. Personally, I would rather have two moms or two dads rather than a mom and a dad who neglect me or abuse me. For that matter, I'd rather have homosexual parents than have one parent or no parents at all.
That's what I said. I would much rather have 2 homosexual parents that cared about me than 1 parent who can't care about me enough or 2 parents that don't care about me at all.