Quote:
Originally Posted by Ristaron
Did you, like, read my mind?
When my friends originally invited me to the Gay Pride Parade, I was a little put-off by the idea. I personally believe that it isn't something you choose; so, then, why be proud of it? I wouldn't be "proud" to be straight if I happened to be of that orientation. What I am proud of is my honesty with myself, but that mostly stems from my belief that life's too short for lies, especially to yourself. If you don't live as who you are, then you might as well not be living.
And that's why I marched with the Pride Parade that year, because I wanted to live as who I was.
As for your other post, though, I have to disagree with your overall point. Yes, government can't fix bigotry, because people are stupid and asinine. What it can do, however, is provide a legally equal society. There's no reason at all that the government shouldn't provide the same benefits to a gay couple as a straight couple. I can understand religious groups, but not a secular government that is constructed to defend the rights of the people. The rights of the people, in case you didn't catch that part (not specifically talking to you, BOY). Gays are people, too.
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You misunderstood Rist, that's what I mean. Government should provide equal benefits. If a straight couple gets a tax write off, a gay couple should be able to have legal status to get the same write off. I would argue that being married shouldn't give you special exemptions on taxes though. There needs to be legal status for homosexuals to share health benefits and gain access to beneficiary rights and such easier than it is now.
I'm talking about invading private matters, like affirmative action, or things that prevent free speech, like hate crime legislation. As far as hate crimes go, ideally the judge should be able to determine motive and use the intent of the accused to determine an appropriate sentence. If I were a judge, I wouldn't give the same sentence to someone who murdered their abusive husband and the kids who killed Matthew Shepherd. IMO it doesn't make rational sense to equate the two, even though they both involved murder.
I don't know if I made that any clearer, or perhaps you still disagree.