www.youtube.com . . .

This young men is extremely well spoken and made a great case here. Thought I'd put this in debates in case it incites strong opinions on the subject.

My brother-in-law's wife's brother posted this on Facebook, and I shared it. I become so angry when people judge. I know several gay people who have raised kids, and the kids are great, not gay (not that it matters) and lived in a loving family.

I can also give you a list of screwed up kids raised by heterosexual parents. What you do in bed has no bearing on how you raise a child. Love is love.

Dream_chaser wrote:


I can also give you a list of screwed up kids raised by heterosexual parents. What you do in bed has no bearing on how you raise a child. Love is love.

Agreed!

What made me mad was the comments on the video.

"This is only one example of gay parents raising a good child, but plenty of them raise messed up ones."

Yet no one talks about heterosexual couples raising "messed up" kids.

I am so glad this young man had the courage to stand in front of everyone and speak as well as he did. I would have been shaking and stuttering.

Amen. They are stupid people. Anyone who hates, to me, is just stupid. I do not know why they are stupid, or why their stupidity makes them fear people different than themselves. Essentially, we are all the same. I mean, there are people who like other types of sex, but no one says a thing, but if it's with the same sex, for some reason, that matters. I DON'T GET IT!

A friend on Facebook also posted this video and the response she got was amazing. It was from her mom. It said something along the lines of, "They did a great job. Now it's time for you and (your girlfriend) to do the same! I LOVE grandchildren... and both of you!" LOL. I don't think a plea for grandkids was quite what my friend had intended when she posted the video. Another friend posted this ad which I thought was beautiful: news.advocate.com . . . Love is love is love and family is family is family. In my opinion, it doesn't matter the orientation, if two people are committed and devoted to each other, who am I to stand in their way? It doesn't make my marriage or my commitment any less.

With as many people who seem to think marriages are just throw away events (I'm looking at you Kim Kardashian), I'd be pleased to see more people who view marriage as special, and something to be treasured. Sure, not every marriage - straight or gay - will last, but it certainly feels like those gay couples who are advocating for their right to marry hold it with way more regard than many of my straight peers. I wish them nothing but the best, and hope that the law will remember that we didn't just land on Plymouth Rock and we really don't need the antiquated ideas, prejudices, and intolerance our forefathers brought with them. A good parent is a good parent regardless of sexual preference, as is a bad parent; I can think of ways parents can screw their kids up, and having two parents of the same sex certainly isn't one of them.

And one more since this subject (and its theme and variation) has been on my feed a lot from various folks, a picture a friend posted:

I love this video. That young man will go far.

Love this video. He's from Iowa...which is awesome. I saw this quite awhile back when he first made the speech, but it still touches me. One of his moms works with my friend.

That's beautiful. He's so articulate! Unfortunately I can't imagine that many people who disagree with same sex marriage will be swayed by this one video, but as more children raised by gay parents grow up I hope they add their voices to this one. Maybe if enough people are screaming the same thing... or maybe I'm just too hopeful.

Thanks for posting, Coccinella.

Puss_in_Boots wrote:

That's beautiful. He's so articulate! Unfortunately I can't imagine that many people who disagree with same sex marriage will be swayed by this one video, but as more children raised by gay parents grow up I hope they add their voices to this one. Maybe if enough people are screaming the same thing... or maybe I'm just too hopeful.

Thanks for posting, Coccinella.

There is more acceptance of mixed marriages of different faiths and mixed races, than when I was young. God forbid a Catholic married a Jewish or Protestant person, or a white person married another race.

I do see a lot more acceptance on tv. That show, "Modern Family", though I do not watch it (have seen one or two but work), is great. Also, lots of the home improvement shows have marriages and partnerships of all types.

The ice breaks, slowly. Happily my daughter's generation is so much more accepting, my generation, more than my parent's generation, and so on.

I love him. Here is his Ellen appearance. www.youtube.com . . . If he was my son I would be proud!!

I will never understand what people's problem with gay marriage is. Anytime anyone starts arguing about why they don't support it, my brain translates every word to the Charlie Brown teacher language... WAH, WAH, WAH-WAH.... I find them so stupid, honestly.

Love it. Have seen it linked on facebook and Twitter loads.

This has been doing the rounds here as well:



Helen

Can't see the video above but here is one going around Australia at the moment www.youtube.com . . .

dancin_til_death I teared up so badly over that one. I figure it out about 3/4 of the way through and my heart melted with the ending!

A few questions:
1. How many gay couples seek to raise children (Brits please amend that to "How many gay couples seek to rear children" - we don't quite speak the same language).

I submit that if a sufficient percentage do, there is legitimate reason for same sex marriage. If not, then the concept of same sex marriage is merely a gimmick to save on taxes (and on employee medical plans) at the expense of singles.

2. Except for the financial breaks described for the previous question, what would same sex couples be able to do with such a law that they are not able to do now?

3. Please provide an explanation for the claim that sexual orientation is genetic. How long could any genetic trait propagate on curiosity alone? Actually I think I know the answer to this one but it needs to be stated with proper citations.

madmilt wrote:

A few questions:
1. How many gay couples seek to raise children (Brits please amend that to "How many gay couples seek to rear children" - we don't quite speak the same language).

I submit that if a sufficient percentage do, there is legitimate reason for same sex marriage. If not, then the concept of same sex marriage is merely a gimmick to save on taxes (and on employee medical plans) at the expense of singles.

How many opposite sex couples seek to raise children? If that percentage is not sufficient then there is no reason for them to marry either. It may come as a surprise but *GASP* not all opposite sex couples want children... the horror!!

madmilt wrote:

2. Except for the financial breaks described for the previous question, what would same sex couples be able to do with such a law that they are not able to do now?

If this is the case, why have marriage at all? I mean, same goes for opposite sex couples too right? What can they do after they are married that they can't do while not married?

1. How many gay couples seek to raise children (Brits please amend that to "How many gay couples seek to rear children" - we don't quite speak the same language).

It’s impossible to say, given all the barriers in place preventing them from adopting now. But as those barriers are lifting, the percentage of homosexual couples adopting children is steadily on the rise.

I submit that if a sufficient percentage do, there is legitimate reason for same sex marriage. If not, then the concept of same sex marriage is merely a gimmick to save on taxes (and on employee medical plans) at the expense of singles.

…and heterosexual marriage is not? Why shouldn’t homosexual couples get those privileges? Unless we’re preventing barren or purposefully childless couples from getting any civil benefits from marriages, there’s no “gimmick.”

Or you could just take the “gimmicks” away. As one of those poor little singles, I’m fine with that. For Pete’s sake…

But since you asked,

Punctuating a fundamental change in American family life, married couples with children now occupy fewer than one in every four households -- a share that has been slashed in half since 1960 and is the lowest ever recorded by the census.

-Washington Post


About 19 percent of same-sex couples raising children reported having an adopted child in the house in 2009, up from just 8 percent in 2000.

-New York Times

2. Except for the financial breaks described for the previous question, what would same sex couples be able to do with such a law that they are not able to do now?

Come on now.

3. Please provide an explanation for the claim that sexual orientation is genetic. How long could any genetic trait propagate on curiosity alone? Actually I think I know the answer to this one but it needs to be stated with proper citations.

LOL how bratty of you.
Important new evidence on a plausible mechanism for the evolution of "gay genes" has emerged from the work of Camperio-Ciani. They found in two large, independent studies that the female relatives of homosexual men tended to have significantly more offspring than those of the heterosexual men. Female relatives of the homosexual men on their mother's side tended to have more offspring than those on the father's side. This indicates that females carrying a putative "gay genes" complex are more fecund than women lacking this complex of genes, and thereby can compensate for any decreased fertility of the males carrying the genes. This is a well known phenomenon in evolution known as "sexual antagonism," has been widely documented for many traits that are advantageous in one sex but not in the other. This provides solid experimental evidence of how "gay genes" could not only survive but thrive over the course of evolution.
SCIENCE!

I agree on everything, with Heart. (Good reply, Heart)

First of all, my belief system, is based on reincarnation. If you don't believe in it, nothing I say you will agree with, and that's fine.

We are incarnated in many faiths, male, female, races, etc. Souls are male and female, just as God, or whatever you call your entity, is both male and female, since we are made in his/her image.

If you are a female soul, in a male body, and vice versa, what do you think will happen? Besides, even if you do not believe this, we are made as are meant to be, to live this life in a certain way. We are not all supposed to be the same. How boring that would be!

Additionally, being married is a sign of a commitment, that many people feel the need. I did, when I was young. Would I again, if I were single, once more? Maybe, maybe not? I am done having/rearing children, but who knows? It's a choice and EVERYONE should have that choice, not what some "pole up the butt" people decide.

Who the heck are this minority, and they truly are, who have the right to say who can love who and who can be married or rear children?

I'm not an overly emotional person, but that video made me weep. NO ONE should be denied the right to marry whoever they love. My mind has a hard time accepting the concept that any two consenting adults who wish to marry should not be allowed to. Whether it be due to race, religion, sexual orentation...none of that is relevant. We are all humans and we all need love and when you find it you need to hold onto it, and anyone that says you are wrong for loving someone, well, they are an idiot.

Sorry for the rant.

shmcdona wrote:

I'm not an overly emotional person, but that video made me weep. NO ONE should be denied the right to marry whoever they love. My mind has a hard time accepting the concept that any two consenting adults who wish to marry should not be allowed to. Whether it be due to race, religion, sexual orentation...none of that is relevant. We are all humans and we all need love and when you find it you need to hold onto it, and anyone that says you are wrong for loving someone, well, they are an idiot.

Sorry for the rant.

Rant away! It's nice to know that everyone who has seen this has felt as we do. I have not heard from any jerks. Thank goodness.

Thank you for taking me at face value and not misunderstanding. My intent was to be only a Devil's advocate, not a jerk.

Maybe you should read your post over again milt. The questions you asked doesn't actually do much for playing Devil's advocate (although I could appreciate doing that since this was placed on the debate board). Rather, your actual feelings on the subject seemed to come through with the way you asked your questions. Also there was this little peach of a statement

I submit that if a sufficient percentage do, there is legitimate reason for same sex marriage. If not, then the concept of same sex marriage is merely a gimmick to save on taxes (and on employee medical plans) at the expense of singles.

Really, honestly... Would you tell heterosexuals that choose not to procreate that they should promptly be divorced, as all they are doing is causing a strain on the single people out there. Which really isn't entirely accurate anyway, couples that choose to not get married and still have children do get many breaks and assistance from the government that married people would not get, it goes both ways.

madmilt wrote:

My intent was to be only a Devil's advocate, not a jerk.

See, the problem with playing Devil's advocate is that unless you SAY "I'm just playing Devil's advocate here, but..." people are going to think you're stating your own feelings. So now we do, in fact, think you're a jerk.

madmilt wrote:

A few questions:
1. How many gay couples seek to raise children (Brits please amend that to "How many gay couples seek to rear children" - we don't quite speak the same language).

I submit that if a sufficient percentage do, there is legitimate reason for same sex marriage. If not, then the concept of same sex marriage is merely a gimmick to save on taxes (and on employee medical plans) at the expense of singles.

2. Except for the financial breaks described for the previous question, what would same sex couples be able to do with such a law that they are not able to do now?

3. Please provide an explanation for the claim that sexual orientation is genetic. How long could any genetic trait propagate on curiosity alone? Actually I think I know the answer to this one but it needs to be stated with proper citations.

Wow, seriously?!?! That just sounds SO ignorant.

Since I never want kids but do want to get married...I guess all I am doing it for is taxes. Who knew :\

I still love this video and it gets me a little waterworks going on in my eyes every time I watch it.

Even if anyone wanted to do it for taxes, why not? If they are living together, and care for each other, why not reap the benefits? How many loveless marriages are there, that are heterosexual, that are staying together for money reasons.

It's a personal decision and the right should be available for anyone.

It's like learning about women and the fight for the right to vote. Men decided that they could not, but now we can.

There are so many laws, that are now defunct, or changed, because they were prejudicial, or just plain stupid.