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so the short of this is they want to go back to real federalism regarding the issue of marriage?
You are probably familiar with Professor Charles E. Rice.
Some thoughts. I live in an area where there are a lot of gay people and so I feel more qualified than most people here to comment on this.
I am a moderate Repblican. I know some people here will have a problem with this, but its pretty clear to me that people who rant on and on about 'defending marriage' are clueless about some important facts. I don't know how they got to see it this way, but they did. Here's my plea for some thinking to be applied to this issue. Because its clear to me that the current official line is very counterproductive and decisive.
Why? Because, gay people clearly don't make a 'choice' to be gay. I would guess that most of them probably wish they weren't. But they are and they then have to make the best of it.
It's some kind of biological difference that forms at a very early age in their brains. We don't have a choice. We are straight - or gay. Period. So I think the whole idea of their gayness 'being a sin' is based on a faulty premise.
I don't think God wants *us* to exclude people from the possibility of being good or bad based on something *He* did.
It just doesn't make sense. If he did, God would be putting those people into a situation that violates the doctrine of free will.
At least that's my opinion.
I also have a thought on gay marriage. I think that its fine for me for official 'marriage' to be for men and women only. However, I do think that having some kind of 'legal equivalent' for gay people is only right, based on some of the legal problems they have now. Especially when people die.
The adoption issue is also something I think many don't understand. Ten years ago, the big thing in the gay community was clearly the club and bar scene. Stable relationships were not common. Now, when my wife and I walk around our neighborhood, instead of gay people going in and out of bars as early as 10 am on a Saturday morning, we see lots of gay families who have adopted. Walking around, talking with their kids, etc.
They clearly are *normal* and responsible parents and it is a huge improvement over the situation that existed before which was clearly pretty sordid with lots of alcoholism, etc. The kids they are adopting are often black or handicapped, kids who would NOT get decent care in the foster care system, which is worse than dysfunctional. So, thats also a plus. Kids have homes. Our (50% gay) neighborhood is also a lot safer now, and much quieter at night.
These people are the people in the gay community who would be the most likely to vote Republican, and we seem to be going out of our way to alienate them.
Not very smart!
Only slightly related - I got a start today when I found out what the state with the lowest divorce rate is..
Its Massachusetts, with 2.4%
Divorce also goes down, in general, during Democratic administrations.
What does this tell us? Sometimes, tough talk is used to mask a policy of intentional inaction. It's called 'overcompensating'.
What can we do to improve these figures?
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bttt