Homosexuality has been around for a very long time, and only recently has it started to become a large issue. I understand it was considered wrong and quite frankly a sin before that, but gay-rights activists truly started campaigning in the 1970s. A gay couple in 1970 in Minnesota applied for a same-sex marriage saying that there was no mention of gender, but was flat out denied in court. Slowly over the course of a decade, many states (starting with Maryland) began banning same-sex marriage.

Later in the 1987 in Washington D.C. over 2000 coupled got married in a mass-wedding. The strange thing was, is that the grooms and brides were all same-sex couples.

In 1989 Denmark became the first country to legally recognize same-sex unions, and Norway following shortly after that.

In 1996 Bill Clinton signed the DOMA which defined marriage as 'a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife' and defined a spouse as 'a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.'

Recently, more and more countries and states are opening up to the possibility of same-sex marriage and gay-rights, but there are still some that are flat out against it. I personally don't understand it. I understand the whole religion thing, but to kick your son/daughter out of the house for being gay, or to call someone a "fag" for liking a guy seems to me like the same thing as calling a black person the N-word. This kind of relates to this video:



Being a gay man myself, I am lucky enough to live in a country where gay marriage is legal, but I feel horrible for people out there that don't have the same rights I do.

So Toribash, what is your opinion on this matter?

Update: Thoughts on gay adoption?

Wow, this is a touchy subject and awkward for me. But Ill put in my opinion. Discrimination of any kind or form is wrong. Being straight myself, Gay marriage and everything seems wrong because my religion and because of my personal preferences. However, I dont outcast and shun homosexuality. I think this was blow out of proportion to begin with. Everyone has a bias, a preference, a belief. You cant shut gays down simply cause what they want doesnt conform to the customs of the majority. Im still never ever gonna become gay lol, but I respect other's decisions anyway. Thats my take on the issue. ^.^

It's not like people who support gay-rights or people who are gay like myself want people to turn gay, we just want to have the same rights everyone else has and not to be shunned. It's not fair that some people don't get to marry the person they love, just because that person is of the same gender. It's the exact same thing with racism, and we overcame that. So why can't people take their heads out of their butts, and realize that everybody has the same rights, and it's wrong to restrict those rights.

Well thats just it. Racism wasnt really dealt with in its entirety. At best racism has diminished but there will always be prejudice to some degree. Maybe in the future we will change, but its not looking good now. But in this, people arent very accepting of ideas or changes they arent fond of. Now restricting rights? No no no. That wasnt right. I said this was being taken a little too personally. Whats the point of a country whos laws, ideals, and history are based on liberty, freedom, and rights and simply neglect everything cause they dont like homosexuality. Its nonsense.

No matter your religion, discrimination on this level just shouldn't be a thing. Homosexuality is something that shouldn't be banned. Now, I'm not saying we should force everyone to be gay, but I'm saying that it's wrong to say "You can't love this person" or "You're different, and aren't following the strict word of god, therefore you're not allowed to marry under gods love".


A majority of people do not like to acknowledge other peoples differences and learn to accept them. Nothing will change this, and discrimination against people who are different than you will always exist.

No shitposting guys - I'll be watching this thread very closely.

Also, if this turns into a one-sided discussion (which it probably will (unless, you know.. bigots)), then I'll close it or move it to Off-Topic. So let's try to bring up some interesting points that we can explore - rather than "Blah, here's my opinion on homosexuality, blah".

One of the most compelling arguments against homosexual marriage I have heard is that marriage is a Christian ceremony, it is consummated by God and all that jazz, and therefore it should happen as described in the Bible (or scripture or whatever). The Bible (or scripture or whatever) says that marriage is between man and wife and therefore gay marriage, regardless of morality, is not marriage because it doesn't fit the definition of marriage.

To be honest I suspect the clergy who expressed this view was using it to justify a view which originated from prejudice, but nevertheless the argument makes sense to me in some ways. You are essentially asking Christianity to change its ancient ceremony described in detail by scripture because Christianity is not sympathetic to your preferences. I personally wish Christianity could be more sympathetic to such people rather than claiming that God is calling them to abstinence, but that is the way it is. Maybe a greater recognition of civil partnerships would be better. I am an atheist, but I feel very sorry for homosexual Christians who want to believe in God and support a lot of the Bible's teachings but are disagreed with by the church on this level.

So, just because Christianity is wrong (I don't want to start a discussion as to whether it is or isn't and will remove anyone's future attempts to start one in this thread) doesn't mean that we can force it to change. It breaks down into what Christianity is and this might be a better discussion to have on this thread than aforementioned morality of religion debate.

Marriage is, however, a legal institution. Most Western countries have the church/state split codified into their constitutions. That being the case, we can force it change - it isn't a sacred Christian privilege. Originally, homosexuality wasn't morally OK when the marriage acts were written. Over time, our morals changed and now it's more socially acceptable. There's always a lag between what society deems OK and what the law deems OK, and that's where we're at right now.

Christianity has no copyright on marriage.
It exists in many cultures so the definition of marriage is not dependent on Christian views.
Ancient Greece and Egypt, for instance, had wedding customs way before Christianity existed. Other major religions have wedding ceremonies as well.

There are many different definitions of marriage. Some include a religious ceremony, others only a legal contract. In many cases marriage has many other purposes other than love or sex as well.
Financial purposes are common, for instance.
In all definitions I am aware of it is a recognized union between two individuals, so I suggest you focus on that.
I also suggest religious views should be ignored in this discussion entirely as there is no common ground.
It would be more productive if the religious people use their religion's explanation for why homosexuality and gay marriage are wrong instead.

I personally think that many people are opposed to homosexuality because they cannot picture themselves being with individuals of their own gender.
There are many examples of similar things. Some people eat dogs. Other people are disgusted by that and think negatively of the people who do eat dogs. Now that's obviously overly simplified and not true in many cases. I just want to point out that because some people find something disgusting it is not inherently wrong.


Banning homosexuality or limiting the rights of homosexuals is basically discriminating groups of people for who they are. Homosexuality cannot be treated or changed into heterosexuality.
Homosexuals do not harm others by being who they are.
I see no moral reason why homosexuals shouldn't have the same rights as heterosexuals.
The only objectively correct fact I have seen anti-gay people propose is that homosexuals do not make children if they are allowed to be who they are. Seeing as humanity is already overcrowding the planet and we are going to reach the maximum capacity of our habitats at some point in the near future I do not think that is a good argument to make.

I really dislike the ones who make a big deal about it, but why can't people just let gays do as they like. This is a waste of time and it's practically pointless fighting against it. How are a group of old people who don't know what being gay is, going to tell them they can't marry? It's just really dumb. It's not like forcing everyone to marry men or something like that.