Human Rights Campaign President and Prop. 8 Architect Become Friends

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i would just like to point out to the previous comment mentioning polygamy that the patriarchs were polygamists.

SG of IL 12:03PM August 16, 2009

that this country was built on a seperation between church and state! Most christians cling to " well it's in the bible" so on and so forth. Yet what they missed is that our founding fathers did not want our laws to based on the bible. Most of them (including our 1st president) were not christians and saw the bible as silly and controlling. They were diests and uninatarians. The purpose of this country was to stear clear of the mix of church and state. So if most don't like it, get out! If you think "all hell is going to break loose" on this country then by all means get out! Sheesh!

Personally I cannot knock anyone. But if a gay person has a personal relationship with god, who are you to tell them they are bound to eternal damnation. The God i worship is loving and caring. He accepts us all!

T.L.C. of FL 6:07PM August 12, 2009

I wish people would stop making generalizations about the Christian community. Christians do not condone divorce. Christians do not condone sex before marriage. @ Dr. Love, no, divorce itself is not a sin. Divorce for any other reason than unfaithfulness is a sin. Yes, some people do divorce for the wrong reasons, and this is also wrong in God's eyes, just like homosexuality, lying, stealing, Polygamy, beastiality, and a slew of other sins that, if not for Christ, all would perish for, and I certainly do not condone any of those activities (yes, I do make mistakes, I do sin, I am not perfect, but this is different from choosing to live a sinful lifestyle). The Constitution was based on the Bible, and that is historical FACT. Who would have thought that 220 some odd years later we as a country would already be trying to do away with such values that just plain make sense, and that goes beyond the argument of homosexuality. It saddens me to see the narrow-mindedness that some Christians show on this subject.

And Jay of LA, guess what? All of those churches and Christian groups that condone and in any way support homosexual activity are WRONG. Period. They are helping to ruin the definition of marriage, right in front of God's eyes. Also, Jay, please understand this: Christians do not hate homosexuals. Christians hate homosexuality. If we had it our way, all gay couples would turn from being gay, find Jesus, and lead heterosexual (hopefully Christian!!) lifestyles. God loves us all and tells us to do the same. We love the gays, but we do not condone or support their lifestyle in any manner.

And for the gay community, if we as a country allow same-sex marriages, where does it end? What if I love my sister? Is that right? What if I love my dog, or my cat? What if I want to marry two women at the same time? Three? What about me, another man, and a woman getting married at the same time? Sounds ridiculous, right? To God, all of these are equally as ridiculous as two women or two men getting married. The message I am trying to get across here is that any way you slice it, no matter what the law of the land says, the law of God proclaims all these as sinful, wrong, and disgraces to the name of marriage, just as (the general view of) divorce and neglect are. Let's leave human emotion out of this argument. The bottom line for all of this is that gay marriage is wrong simply because God says it is wrong.

MikeSD of CA 2:34PM August 06, 2009

Why is it that everyone is missing the whole point of Prop 8. Comparisons of Women receiving the right to vote and the civil rights movement have been used constantly by those who opppose Prop 8.

The whole point of women receiving the right to vote was to have this right as women, not change the name of women to men in order to be able to vote. The point of the civil rights movement was to provide equal rights to all races, not change the name of blacks and other races to whites, but to have equal rights while maintaining their heritage and name. I voted yes for Prop 8 and not for the reason that the people against Prop 8 say I did. I know literally thousands of people who voted yes for Prop 8 and we all voted that way for the name "marriage", not for rights. All of the people I know who voted yes would be in favor of equal rights for civil unions. I may not agree with your lifestyle (and I have a right to belive that way), but I do agree that you should have equal rights. In California, you do, but on a Federal level and in other states you don't and this is where you direct your efforts to.

Marriage is a committed relationship to members of the opposite sex and a civil union is a committed realtionship to people of the same sex. This will never change, no matter what laws you enact. I will fight "tooth and nail" against any effort to change than name of a civil union relationship to a marriage, but I along with most people who voted yes on Prop 8 would support efforts to obtain equal rights for civil unions. This is where most of the christian population stands, not where most of the people who post on this article and many others think we are. If equal rights is what you truly want, then do it the right way and follow the examples above. Changing the name is not the right way.

Kelly of CA 4:03PM August 03, 2009

How nice for them. Maybe they can sleep together.

I should probably mention that I'm gay and I think the "Human Rights Campaign" is the most ineffective civil rights group in the country. I'm sure Joe Salmonese is very well paid...but not by me.

Tom L of CA 2:51AM August 03, 2009

So how can I be a Talibanist?

Yes many who call themselves Christians do and tolerate what is sinful. But we who follow and listen to the Truth know that not all who profess the gospel are saved. "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evil-doers.'"-Matthew 7:21-23 NIV. These people you mention also bring the truth into disrepute (II Peter 2:2).

You know my kind? You do not know me! If I was in a position of power I would not let the homosexual community marry. This is not a death sentence. For people in places of authority are supposed to lift up the righteous and condemn the wicked (Romans 13:1-7). How can this happen if I allow evil to occur when I was in a position of authority?

How could I go before God knowing that I had the chance to fight for His kingdom, but let it slip by?

"But this is a free country!"

Yes, but we are told not to use this liberty as a license to do evil (I Peter 2:16).

You don't want me to push my beliefs on others, yet you do the same. Your belief is that no one should press their beliefs on others, so you command people to follow this belief. What logic is that?

Dr. Shade of NC 1:15PM August 02, 2009

I am glad to see so many stupid comments on this blog by religious bigots. That is the most helpful thing they can do for equal rights: expose themselves for the narrow-minded, stupid people they are. It is easy enough for me to say that they are stupid and bigoted, but it is better for them to show that they are by the kinds of posts that we see from the likes of DC of XX and Dr Shade of NC. I am always amused when religious people deny that they are bigots. And, of course, not all of them are. But there are enough religious bigots that the burden on truly religious people is to dissociate themselves from the bigots.

Jay of LA 1:11PM August 02, 2009

PERVERSIONS

"Before the destruction of Sodom, warnings, many warnings were given to mankind. These warnings also fell on deafened ears.

"Man was created above the animals, but he has now progressed downward, down the ladder, bordering on hell. Man has joined the animals in desecration of his body with bestiality, homosexuality, and all manner of perversions."

DC 8:20PM August 01, 2009

For those who think we in the LGBTQ community should call our marriages something else remember it is an issue of "KINSHIP".

There are only 3 legal ways to establish Kinship: by Marriage, Blood (birth) or adoption. Until the legal definition of Kinship is changed the only way to acquire the rights and responsibilities for same-sex couples is through Marriage.

Brock of CA 7:31PM August 01, 2009

You do not have the right to force your religious beliefs on the entire country. Moreover, not all Christians believe as you do. The Quakers just approved same-sex marriage. Congregationalists marry same-sex couples. Unitarians marry same-sex couples. Many episcopal congregations marry same-sex couples. The Metropolitan Community Church marries same-sex couples. The United Church of Canada marries same-sex couples. Just backward theocrats want to impose their religious beliefs on the entire country.

And knowing your kind, I know that if you had the power to do so you would put homosexuals in concentration camps. After all, what the hell else do lyou do with "abominations"?

Jay of LA 6:52PM August 01, 2009

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Dan Gilgoff covers religion for U.S. News & World Report. He is the author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War, and is a former politics editor at beliefnet. E-mail Dan at godandcountry@usnews.com.

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