I live by what I personally understand Christianity to be.
And gay people mostly don't. But since you believe Christianity is the one truth, you punish them with your Christian-influenced laws and disparage them. That's not the kind of freedom America is all about.
I'm just going to have to say fuck you and fuck off. If you're going to try and argue intelligently with someone, try actually listening to both their argument and their side. I've said where I've stood too many times already, and by saying such things you're basically going "Nah-nah I'm not listening".
You've argued that gays should have civil unions that are equivalent to marriage because including gays in legal marriage would offend bigots. That's punishing gays with (in this case) Christian influenced laws, because we know that separate but equal doesn't work, and it is indeed disparaging to the group getting the "next best thing". You may not like the way Zeality phrased it, but he was addressing what you've asserted in this thread.
And while there is a case to be made that government shouldn't be in the marriage business at all, if that's how we want to do things, it means that the government has to stop offering straight marriage. If we seek to do good in the world, both straight and gay marriage must have equal legal standing, whatever that legal standing winds up being.
...punishing them by giving them something they have wanted for quite a while?
If we really are going to compare my opinion on how to solve this problem to separate but equal of the old days, then we are making a false comparison.
separate but equal then meant separating blacks from white society, and then hazing them.
my opinion means nothing but the exact equality of homosexual couples and heterosexual couples in the lawful sense. Same rights same abilities same advantages, everything.
I'm sorry but if you're saying that my wanting to work towards equality whilst trying to stay within the bounds of my religion is the same as being an asshole to them and protesting soldier's deaths and blaming the war on them, then I can't argue with someone taking everything I say and twisting it as if to make me look like the bad guy. Saying that I'm trying to punish them, whilst in reality I'm trying to be the one that quells both sides of this argument.
I read my post 2 above and see the possibilities.... and if theres a single chance that both sides can be happy, and there is, I would take it.
I'm sorry Z, are there actually laws on a state or federal level that "punish" gays? I know there's still a lot ground to be covered in equality standards, but I think our society is past the point of legal hazing for sexual orientation.
^^ This is exactly what I am talking about. If you truly think that my viewpoint is just another way that I can haze and discriminate and persecute and be an asshole, then you obviously missed a number of things I said.