Obama says same-sex couples should be able to marry

[reno316]

Im curious if people really are that up in arms over this?
If your st8, does it really matter to you if people you have no connection with
what so ever get legally married?

I was in a wreck some years ago in my ambulance. Drunk driver blew the red light, slammed into the ambo, caused us to roll. Busted up pretty good.

Another paramedic on duty that night was the first ambulance on scene. Took damn good care of me. I probably would have survived anyway, but maybe not. Who knows, right?

That paramedic is gay. We struck up a friendship after that -- sadly, I never really got to know him before this event. Big ambulance service, lots of EMTs, see him in passing -- "Hey, Jeff"... "Hey, Richard" -- and remain friends to this day.

I'll be getting married in 4 weeks and a day. After 40 years, I finally managed to find a woman that said yes. And I'm just as happy as a pig in shit about it. I can't imagine how I got through life without this level of pure, total, complete joy.

And I can't imagine how absolutely, totally, completely frustrating it must be to be told, by a government, "Sorry, but you're not permitted to have that level of happiness in your life, because we don't think it's right."

YMMV.

[RCCrawler]

I don't think the government should have anything to do with people getting married, gay or straight.

[cstone]

I don't think the government should have anything to do with people getting married, gay or straight.

This issue is complicated for many reasons. Marriage is both a civil (legal) contract, and for many it is a spiritual covenant.

The government defines marriage. The government issues marriage licenses. The government legislates when a marriage begins and when a marriage ends.

If the state government regulates what constitutes a marriage, then government can regulate who and how people can become contractually married.

It seems to me, the issue is who will We the People of the individual states elect to create laws that we desire to live by. Which officials will appoint judges We the People can respect when they make decisions regarding the laws created by our representatives.

We the People do not have static opinions about what we believe or desire for society. Our opinions are in flux and there is no clear opinion about this, among many other issues our society is confronted with.

Debate is part of our democracy. Because something was legal in 1859, does not make it legal in 2012. Because something is legal in 2012, doesn't indicate what will happen in 2020, or beyond.

Be safe.