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More Federal Privileges to Extend to Same-Sex Couples

opendebate

opendebate

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From the article:

The government estimates that more than 1,100 federal regulations, rights and laws touch on, or are affected by, marital status. With a memo on Monday, Mr. Holder plans to make several of those provisions apply equally to gay and straight couples.

The federal government will soon treat married same-sex couples the same as heterosexual couples when they file for bankruptcy, testify in court or visit family in prison.

Eric Holder “In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages,”

“As all-important as the fight against racial discrimination was then, and remains today, know this: My commitment to confronting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity runs just as deep,” his speech said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/09/u...end-to-same-sex-couples.html?smid=tw-bna&_r=1


Happy to say we are getting closer and closer to equality even though it has been relentlessly challenged by the close minded and the fearful every step of the way. We evolve despite them.
 
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Do you have any idea... any idea at all about what this will do to society!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!

Nothing at all...
 
Jetboogieman said:
Do you have any idea... any idea at all about what this will do to society!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!

Nothing at all...
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I am not sure you are right and we cannot know for at least a couple of generations.
 
Jetboogieman said:
Do you have any idea... any idea at all about what this will do to society!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!

Nothing at all...
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hide your children!! the gays are coming !!;)
 
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joG said:
I am not sure you are right and we cannot know for at least a couple of generations.
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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Massachusetts for about a decade now. Are there any early indications of any sort of problem? Even the tiniest shred of a hint of some sort of negative impact on your life, or anyone else's? Can you point me in the direction of any measurable kind of harm caused to society? To myself? To my marriage? To yours? How about in other countries?
 
Good. Now is everybody happy? Do you think we can get back to issues that affect the other 98% of the population?
 
tech30528 said:
Good. Now is everybody happy?
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Not really no, gay people still don't have equal rights.

Do you think we can get back to issues that affect the other 98% of the population?
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I'm pretty sure all the issues that affect 98% of the population also affect gay people so am not sure why you exclude them, also just because gay people are a minority doesn't mean that their rights should be any less important. Gay rights are not the only thing being focused on, though the fact that there is debate today about whether or not gay people should be given equal rights is ridiculous.
 
tech30528 said:
Good. Now is everybody happy? Do you think we can get back to issues that affect the other 98% of the population?
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As an American, I feel freedom is an issue that affects us all. And the fight for freedom will continue until equality for homosexuals exists at the state and local level, not just federal.

If this bothers you... well, I suggest you find a way to deal with it.
 
Deuce said:
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Massachusetts for about a decade now. Are there any early indications of any sort of problem? Even the tiniest shred of a hint of some sort of negative impact on your life, or anyone else's? Can you point me in the direction of any measurable kind of harm caused to society? To myself? To my marriage? To yours? How about in other countries?
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The impacts can be quite various and unexpected, where large numbers change their behavior and legal or even ethical fundamentals are changed. I mean, that doesn't take much imagination. It doesn't take a rocket scientist.
 
joG said:
The impacts can be quite various and unexpected, where large numbers change their behavior and legal or even ethical fundamentals are changed. I mean, that doesn't take much imagination. It doesn't take a rocket scientist.
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Are you suggesting that you have some idea of what that impact would be?
 
opendebate said:
Are you suggesting that you have some idea of what that impact would be?
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I am only saying that it will take a long time before we can see what the impacts are, in which areas some of these might be and how a research project could be structured to get a certain grip on the questiin.
 
tech30528 said:
Good. Now is everybody happy? Do you think we can get back to issues that affect the other 98% of the population?
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You use this argument a lot. "They're only X percent of the population, so this is insignificant." Well, guess what. I don't care if they're 0.1% of the population. Right is right, wrong is wrong, equality is equality and civil rights are civil rights.

Also, we are capable of multitasking. Just because gay rights are being passed does not mean all other issues are being placed on the back burner.
 
Kobie said:
You use this argument a lot. "They're only X percent of the population, so this is insignificant." Well, guess what. I don't care if they're 0.1% of the population. Right is right, wrong is wrong, equality is equality and civil rights are civil rights.

Also, we are capable of multitasking. Just because gay rights are being passed does not mean all other issues are being placed on the back burner.
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I'm glad you feel that way. I suppose that means you will join me in opposition to those against the 2nd amendment, Christian bashing, government spying and the Federal Reserve feeding the stock market with counterfeit money. Good to have you aboard, Dude.
 
tech30528 said:
I'm glad you feel that way. I suppose that means you will join me in opposition to those against the 2nd amendment, Christian bashing, government spying and the Federal Reserve feeding the stock market with counterfeit money. Good to have you aboard, Dude.
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I'll ask you not to tell me what my views are, thanks. I don't really care about alleged "Christian bashing;" my thoughts on the other things you listed are on this forum.
 
Kobie said:
I'll ask you not to tell me what my views are, thanks. I don't really care about alleged "Christian bashing;" my thoughts on the other things you listed are on this forum.
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Well in that case I'll leave it to the gay crowd handle their own issues. They seem to have a loud enough voice to be heard. I'm not gay, and I don't need another issue to support. Don't think it's really a matter of for or against, it's just not my issue.
 
joG said:
The impacts can be quite various and unexpected, where large numbers change their behavior and legal or even ethical fundamentals are changed. I mean, that doesn't take much imagination. It doesn't take a rocket scientist.
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You should really ponder why you can't actually answer the question.
 
tech30528 said:
Well in that case I'll leave it to the gay crowd handle their own issues. They seem to have a loud enough voice to be heard. I'm not gay, and I don't need another issue to support. Don't think it's really a matter of for or against, it's just not my issue.
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People have the right to criticize Christians. It's that first amendment thing.

People particularly have the right to criticize Christians who actively work to suppress the civil rights of others.
 
Deuce said:
You should really ponder why you can't actually answer the question.
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Oh, that is quite normal with sociological topics of complex interactions, many leads and lags of varying lengths and large populations involved. I am surprised you wouldn't know that. Such processes are never straight forward or mostly even vaguely fortellable. It is quite naive to demand predictions, especially without research. If you pay me, however, I will put together a proposal of how to structure the studies.
 
joG said:
The impacts can be quite various and unexpected, where large numbers change their behavior and legal or even ethical fundamentals are changed. I mean, that doesn't take much imagination. It doesn't take a rocket scientist.
Click to expand...

Yes, there can be mystery impacts down the road, but in the absence of a concrete working theory as to what negative impacts there may be, there's no reason not to move ahead and give gays the same rights everyone else has.

Should we have given women in only one state the right to vote and then waited for the long term impacts to be observed in order to better understand the ramifications of giving them that right?
 
joG said:
Oh, that is quite normal with sociological topics of complex interactions, many leads and lags of varying lengths and large populations involved. I am surprised you wouldn't know that. Such processes are never straight forward or mostly even vaguely fortellable. It is quite naive to demand predictions, especially without research. If you pay me, however, I will put together a proposal of how to structure the studies.
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No one is demanding studies to determine the long term impact of letting heterosexuals marry and, not to be overly snide here, nobody's interested in commissioning you to conduct long term studies of gay marriage before approving its legality.
 
Jetboogieman said:
Do you have any idea... any idea at all about what this will do to society!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!

Nothing at all...
Click to expand...

I know. Liberty and Justice for all... equal protection... what silly concepts.
 
tech30528 said:
Good. Now is everybody happy? Do you think we can get back to issues that affect the other 98% of the population?
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Nope.. not happy. Still no Liberty and Justice for all... Still no equal protection... Better, but not done. And... civil liberties issues affect 100% of the population.
 
Cardinal said:
Yes, there can be mystery impacts down the road, but in the absence of a concrete working theory as to what negative impacts there may be, there's no reason not to move ahead and give gays the same rights everyone else has.

Should we have given women in only one state the right to vote and then waited for the long term impacts to be observed in order to better understand the ramifications of giving them that right?
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I am surprised you have not encountered concrete working theories of possible impacts .

Be that as it may, your question is interesting and after 2 million years of waiting, you are probably right. Running a few field experiments lasting a few decades each would not seem unreasonable. In effect humanity has and is doing this with democratic systems right now. Our society is the largest such experiment.
 
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