I am convinced that was the right thing...

[Steezie]

My fiancee just got finished talking with two friends of ours that are ecstatic about the repeal of the ban on gay marriage in California. They've been together probably 8 years or so but because both of them are male, they havent been able to marry.

Both of them are planning a wedding for New Year's Eve next January and they both sound happier than I've heard them in a long time.

Hearing about them and how happy they are that they'll finally be able to properly be together truly makes me incredibly happy for both of them. And to me, its a sign that the ban was a bad idea and it was the right thing to do to get rid of it.

 

[Sitswithamouse]

I'm so pleased for your friends. I hope they have a great life together.

Yes it was the right decision.
My cousin is getting married to his partner in August and I can't wait to see them married, they have waited so long .

 

[m9lc]

Slowly but surely, things are changing. Hopefully others will follow in Massachusetts's and California's lead.

 

[HannahBanana]

Slowly but surely, things are changing. Hopefully others will follow in Massachusetts's and California's lead.

Though there are, unfortunately, quite a few states that I would be astonished if they ever legalized gay marriage (Oklahoma and Texas being two of them).

 

[Kroger99]

I am convinced that was the right thing...

I can't agree, but to be fair, I don't think that states or feds should have anything to do with any marriage.

 

[wanderingone]

Though there are, unfortunately, quite a few states that I would be astonished if they ever legalized gay marriage (Oklahoma and Texas being two of them).

Which is why it shouldn't even be a state decision, - there were states that never felt the need to get rid of their anti-miscegenation laws until a few years ago, obviously the laws were invalid due to their being over ruled by fed law but it wouldn't surprise me if they chose to enforce them for years and years after the Loving case if they had been able to.

--------------------------

 

[wanderingone]

I'm so pleased for your friends. I hope they have a great life together.

Yes it was the right decision.
My cousin is getting married to his partner in August and I can't wait to see them married, they have waited so long .

My cousin and his hubby got legally married in MA right after it became legal, they had been together for years years and while they had a religious ceremony at their church about 2 years into their relationship they were thrilled to "make it legal" although they'd be more excited with federal recognition.

 

[wanderingone]

I can't agree, but to be fair, I don't think that states or feds should have anything to do with any marriage.

Are you married? If so are you married legally? If you are (or if you would choose to be) then why did you choose to have a legal marriage if you believe there should be no government role in marriage?

See.. I personally don't much care about legalities when it comes to proving commitment, but I sure as heck appreciate the convenience of all the legal protections and benefits that come with legal marriage.

 

[Ramona]

I'm so happy for your friends. What wonderful news!

My state has legalized unions now. My birth mom and my adoptive mom have been together nearly 15 years now and they've only fallen more in love...it's about time they were allowed to exchange their vows.

 

[Trevorocity]

Oh gee that's just great! If this keeps up I'll be out of excuses to tell my mother as to why I'm 31 years old and STILL not married...

 

[katautumn]

My fiancee just got finished talking with two friends of ours that are ecstatic about the repeal of the ban on gay marriage in California. They've been together probably 8 years or so but because both of them are male, they havent been able to marry.

Both of them are planning a wedding for New Year's Eve next January and they both sound happier than I've heard them in a long time.

Hearing about them and how happy they are that they'll finally be able to properly be together truly makes me incredibly happy for both of them. And to me, its a sign that the ban was a bad idea and it was the right thing to do to get rid of it.

But dis will be teh demize uv mah marrij!!!111!!!!

I kid, I kid. I am really happy for your friends and I wish them a lifetime of happiness.

 

[Kroger99]

Are you married? If so are you married legally? If you are (or if you would choose to be) then why did you choose to have a legal marriage if you believe there should be no government role in marriage?

See.. I personally don't much care about legalities when it comes to proving commitment, but I sure as heck appreciate the convenience of all the legal protections and benefits that come with legal marriage.

Yes, I am Married. And yes, I am married legally. But more importantly, I am married in the eyed of God!

 

[wanderingone]

Yes, I am Married. And yes, I am married legally. But more importantly, I am married in the eyed of God!

You didn't answer my question nor did you get the point.

 

[ews]

Are you married? If so are you married legally? If you are (or if you would choose to be) then why did you choose to have a legal marriage if you believe there should be no government role in marriage?

See.. I personally don't much care about legalities when it comes to proving commitment, but I sure as heck appreciate the convenience of all the legal protections and benefits that come with legal marriage.

I for one can’t understand why it is anyone’s business who one loves. The state or federal government should have nothing to do with it other that to recognize it. Two people should come together and with the sanctions of the deity in their lives should be joined. The state then should recognize the union.

 

[Texas Lynn]

Of course it was the right thing. If we're going to have marriage to make it only for heterosexuals is just plain evil. The world is getting better. This is some of the most wonderful news this year.

 

[wanderingone]

I for one can’t understand why it is anyone’s business who one loves. The state or federal government should have nothing to do with it other that to recognize it. Two people should come together and with the sanctions of the deity in their lives should be joined. The state then should recognize the union.

Why do people need to be married with the sanctions of the deity in their lives? What if there is no deity in their lives?

 

[LittleNipper]

My fiancee just got finished talking with two friends of ours that are ecstatic about the repeal of the ban on gay marriage in California. They've been together probably 8 years or so but because both of them are male, they havent been able to marry.

Both of them are planning a wedding for New Year's Eve next January and they both sound happier than I've heard them in a long time.

Hearing about them and how happy they are that they'll finally be able to properly be together truly makes me incredibly happy for both of them. And to me, its a sign that the ban was a bad idea and it was the right thing to do to get rid of it.

Who else can we make happy by changing laws. Let's open all the prisons, I'm sure they (convicts) would be happy to get out and roam free...

The reality is that no matter what the government says, I will not considered homosexuals married. I hope that they will be able to accept that, but I think I will be made the criminal.

 

[ews]

Why do people need to be married with the sanctions of the deity in their lives? What if there is no deity in their lives?

And that is the case a lot of the time and it last 6 weeks/6 months. Why not just live together?

I don’t know of any but I have heard that some same-sex unions have lasted years and years. Having said that the union should be sanctioned by their church I am aware it is not a guarantee the union will last. I heard that in Iran Ayatollah Khamenei’s teachings say that a man should not have sex with a woman without it being his wife so the procedure is to say I marry you, I marry you, I marry you, three times before sex. So you see not all sanctions are noteworthy.

Back to point, the government’s intervention is for tax purposes only.

 

[ews]

Nevertheless I believe church unions have the best chance of lasting. IMO

 

[Skaloop]

And that is the case a lot of the time and it last 6 weeks/6 months.

Got any support data for that? Because I did a quick search on "divorce rates by religion" that brought up the following:


[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]"11% of the adult population is currently divorced.[/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]25% of adults have had at least one divorce during their lifetime.[/FONT]
[FONT=trebuchet ms,arial,helvetica]Divorce rates among conservative Christians were significantly higher than for other faith groups, and much higher than Atheists and Agnostics experience."[/FONT]
Divorce rates:
Jews - 30%
Born again Christians - 27%
Other Christians - 24%
Atheist/Agnostic - 21%

"The highest divorce rates are in the Bible Belt: "Tennessee, Arkansas, Alabama and Oklahoma round out the Top Five in frequency of divorce...the divorce rates in these conservative states are roughly 50 percent above the national average" of 4.2/1000 people."

"conservative Protestant Christians, on average, have the highest divorce rate, while mainline Christians have a much lower rate. They found some new information as well: that atheists and agnostics have the lowest divorce rate of all."

These are from four different sources:
http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_dira.htm
http://philosopherdad.blogspot.com/2007/04/divorce-rates-and-religion.html
http://atheism.about.com/od/atheistfamiliesmarriage/a/AtheistsDivorce.htm
http://religion.propeller.com/story...s-highest-for-christians-lowest-for-atheists/

Those articles are probably based on the same data, but it took me 10 seconds to find them. Can you find any that support your assertion that deity-based marriages are more stable?