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I'm not intolerant of gays. I've got no right or business stopping them from what they're doing.
And yet, you want to stop them from getting married? Isn't that a bit hypocritical?
More specificly, the view is that the state should not recognize the marriage. The state cannot, nor should it, prevent people from entering into any type of relationship they wish, assuming all parties are willing and able to make rational decisions. People doing it, though, is different from the state recognizing it, and that's what people have an issue with. Having the state say what is or isn't a marriage is problematic because its definition will invariably differ from some people's deeply held beliefs. In a country like the US, where the state is not supposed to interfere with religion, we value our beliefs and rightly consider it our right not to have the state define our doctrines. Regardless of the history or origins of marriage, there are many who feel that it is a religious arrangement with certain conditions. There are others who do not view it as such, and for those who DO view it as a religious arrangement, there are many different variations on what exactly that means.

The real pickel we're in is that the state is ALREADY invovled in this definition of marriage, which is pretty tragic IMHO. Because no matter what, when the final word comes down, someone's definition is going to be labeld as wrong, and while we are all free to behave as we wish with regards to marriage, those who have differening beliefs than those recognized by the state are going to feel that their fundamental right to define their own beliefs is being trampled. And when I say this, I mean it equally as strong for those on either side of the issue.

I know this is all a rehash of what I've said before, and that getting the state out of the marriage defining business is unrealistic, but IMHO it is the only outcome that will honor the spirit under which our country was founded. No, this isn't the conservative party line, but it is what I think is right.
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-Jeff
Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings; they did it by killing all those who opposed them.