Same sex marriage

This topic has come up in the "Levitical law" thread. So I thought I'd bring it up here in the coffee house.This same sex marriage thing has been a hot topic here in Canada lately, as all provinces (except in my home province, Alberta) have recently allowed for same sex marriages. (I'd like to think it's because we are standing up for morality, but I suspect it's the fact that this province is majority oilfield rednecks, and current leadership does not want to fight with us.)Now I am definately adverse to this. If it were guaranteed to stop at marriage I might not say anything, I still would think it's wrong but it's not my life to decide, I have my own sin to deal with. However I must protest because I see the adoption of children into gay families as the logical next step. This bothers me immensly. I would have felt this way even if I was not a Christian.Question; Should gay couples be allowed to adopt and raise children?Personally I will do what I can to ensure that gay couples are not married in my church (they can go to a justice of the peace) and that children are not adopted into gay families in my community.I know this is a touchy subject and I apologize if I have offended anyone but this is my view, I'm curious what others think.------------------
Saved by an incredible Grace.

Hi Funk,Just what is your objection to a child in need being adopted into a loving family?------------------
Asgara"An unexamined life is not worth living" Socrates via Plato

Do you think that a hetrosexual couple is necessarily going to be good parents? Obviously this is not true.What would make a homosexual couple less likely to be good parents than any other couple.

Yeah, why not? As it turns out, the kids don't turn out any worse than kids raised by heterosexual parents. (Of course, I think a slightly higher percentage turn out gay in later life, probably because they haven't been told by their parents that it's an "affront to God" or some such bs.) Um, out of curiosity, just what do you think you can do if your gay neighbors decide to adopt? I don't know how Canadian law works, but in America, I don't have to get my community's permission to adopt. And you're not likely to convince a court to stop the adoption without some data that says that kids of gay couples turn out significantly worse. As far as I know, there isn't any.We're a long way from acceptance of gay marriage in America, but we're getting closer, mostly because almost everybody in my age cohort is in favor, but almost everybody in the few previous generations is opposed. As they die off, we get closer to gay marriage. I'm happy to think of it as only a matter of time.You say that gay adoption would bother you, even if you weren't Christian - what then, besides the (perhaps nonexistent) biblical condemnation, bothers you about it? For what secular reason do you oppose gay adoption or marriage?

Granted this link is to a four year old fact sheet, but I don't believe the information has changed much in the past few years.http://archive.aclu.org/issues/gay/parent.htmlIt discusses some issues such as stability of relationship, psychological fitness to parent, child's peer relationships, and child sexual abuse by adults in their life.In reality, same sex marriage really has nothing to do with adoption, as single parents are allowed to adopt. Many gays/lesbians in long term, committed relationships adopt, one member of the couple adopts as a single parent.As far as I remember, (I don't have the link handy), only two states in the US have specific bans on gay/lesbian adoption. One is Florida and its ban is being challenged in federal court.Oh, and Funk, a link specifically discussing Alberta and a case of adoption by gay/lesbian partners back in 1999404(edited to fix typo)[This message has been edited by Asgara, 07-20-2003]

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However I must protest because I see the adoption of children into gay families as the logical next step. This bothers me immensly. I would have felt this way even if I was not a Christian.

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Why, funk? Why the problem with gay folk? What is inherently worse than hetero-parents? Mind you, the latter are responsible for the bulk of the abuse children endure-- by a lot. As important a question, what is the root of this distaste for homosexuality if not the Christian tradition? Curious, no, that you stated that you are not really one to judge as you have your own sins? See that taint of christianity?------------------
No webpage found at provided URL: www.hells-handmaiden.com

I have no problem with "gay marriage". I do have a problem with gay couples raising children - NOT because I think the couple will try to "turn the kid gay" or anything, but because our largely backward society is not ready for it, and will make the kid suffer because they "disapprove" of the parents.
When I was growing up, there was a racially mixed couple with 3 kids, all of whom rode on the same bus I took. Some of the other kids would call them nigger and such, because, I have little doubt, their parents instilled this hatred in them. Sadly, I see no reason to think that such intolerance - magnified - will be present in large numbers of people today, and the kids of gay couples will be the targets.
I know many - MANY - heterosexual couples that have no right to copulate, much less have childrenm but of course they do. It is a sad - and sickening - statment on our society.

I think that all depends where you live. In any case, don't you think that's a decision best left to the prospective parents?Are we not to allow white folk to adopt Chinese babies because of the spectre of racism, either?

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I do have a problem with gay couples raising children - NOT because I think the couple will try to "turn the kid gay" or anything, but because our largely backward society is not ready for it, and will make the kid suffer because they "disapprove" of the parents.
When I was growing up, there was a racially mixed couple with 3 kids, all of whom rode on the same bus I took. Some of the other kids would call them nigger and such, because, I have little doubt, their parents instilled this hatred in them. Sadly, I see no reason to think that such intolerance - magnified - will be present in large numbers of people today, and the kids of gay couples will be the targets.

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The only way to fight this sort of thing, though, is to do it in the face of adversity.I actually do not think that things will be as bad for the children of gay parents as it was for the children of mixed race parents, or even of the black children who had to go to school under the protection of the National Guard.I live in a fairly progressive town in a midwest state which is the only town in an otherwise rather terrifyingly Christian/fundamentalist/redneck/militia/NRA sort of state which allows gay coulples to adopt children. As a result, lots of gay couples live here, are and have kids. I haven't heard anything about any major problems.

Interestingly, I seem to remember seeing a CNN poll about same sex marriage, and while more women than men thought it would be OK, women approved of male gay couples more than female gay couples, and men approved of female gay couples more than male gay couples.It seems that the further removed from poneself the "idea" of a gay couple is, the easier it is for everyone.(Of course, nobody is surprised that men approve of the idea of a lesbial couple...)

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Question; Should gay couples be allowed to adopt and raise children?

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This only applies to the US, but... Heterosexual couples are allowed to adopt children.I don't see the issue here.

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(Of course, nobody is surprised that men approve of the idea of a lesbial couple...)

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Of course, men can't seem to understand that a lesbian couple might not actually be interested in... well, ya know. ------------------
No webpage found at provided URL: www.hells-handmaiden.com

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Are we not to allow white folk to adopt Chinese babies because of the spectre of racism, either?

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Not 100% sure of this one, but I think the UK government don't
like to place children with parents of a different 'ethnicity'.Not making any comment on the gay-couple-having-kids thing though
so don't read anything into that comment.

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Of course, men can't seem to understand that a lesbian couple might not actually be interested in... well, ya know

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Don't you know that lesbians are only having sex with each other while they wait for a man to show up and join them and show them how it's really done?LOL!!!

Not quite right... they're actually just waiting for me.