Can anyone give me a secular reason why gay marriage shouldn't be legal?

[Damsbo]

Because "input sarcastic mega fun joke"..
But really though, let people do what they want - It's all good if they dont hurt anyone. Isn't that kind of the point? /hug.

[belfpala]

Did not read thread.

There's only one secular reason: "I don't like it."

[Spectral]

Statistically, it's more expensive to share your life with someone. While there's the income disparity between equally qualified and even ranked men and women, there's also many other factors to consider. More food being eaten, more utilities being used, more medical bills, more travel, more of everything that costs money essentially.

I have no idea how you came to this conclusion. My individual costs drop like a rock when I cohabitate with someone. Even the things you wouldn't expect to drop, like food bills, drop because of better planning and buying in bulk. If costs went up from cohabitation, having a roommate would be the dumbest choice in existence.

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There's only one secular reason: "I don't like it."

If I took the most selfish, narcissistic perspective possible (I'll just pretend to enjoy Ayn Rand), I could argue that it takes money out of my pocket. That's an argument against heterosexual marriage too though.

[Adam Jensen]

Did not read thread.

There's only one secular reason: "I don't like it."

And that's not a good reason at all.

Otherwise, by that logic, beets should be illegal. I don't like them.

[Spectral]

Otherwise, by that logic, beets should be illegal. I don't like them.

They're also an abomination. So there's that.

[Dolus]

I am not trying to start a religious argument (which goes against the rules of MMO-Champ), this is why it is secular. This discussion is also secular because I am curious if anyone has any non-religious reasons to oppose homosexual marriages.

NOTE: Be civil!

If we're discussing in merely "secular" in terms then why does government even recognize marriage period?

[chrisberb]

If we're discussing in merely "secular" in terms then why does government even recognize marriage period?

Because marriage is more than just a religious ceremony.

[Ectro81]

as far as secular reasons go, there are none. the only arguments against gay marriage floating around are either sentimental, semantic, or religious. none of which are valid (in this country.) thus, gay marriage must be legalized.

[drlawyer]

Devils advocate here a moment....procreation would be a good reason I suppose

No, that doesn't work, because under that logic, hetero couples who are too old to have children, or who have one or both people with fertility / sterility issues would also be prohibited from marrying.

[Spectral]

If we're discussing in merely "secular" in terms then why does government even recognize marriage period?

Compelling interest in retaining pair bonded couples as units. This promotes economic stability because it decreases the likelihood of catastrophic financial events in a household, allows for smoother transference of wealth following death, and mitigates cost of illness. It also promotes improved child rearing, as children with two parents fare much better in life.

[Dolus]

as far as secular reasons go, there are none. the only arguments against gay marriage floating around are either sentimental, semantic, or religious. none of which are valid (in this country.) thus, gay marriage must be legalized.

You could say the same about breed laws.

[Åmbulance]

This thread is only going to lead to one thing. A person speaking out, getting attacked, and getting closed. Like most of the Authors threads.

[stuck4cash]

Easy.

It's gross n stuff.

This is a serious concern for some. You don't agree but people are afraid of spiders so it's valid for an otherwise normal person of athiest/agnostic beliefs to find it uncomfortable and therefore they should be allowed to use their right to vote to stop it happening.

The same way people can be uncomfortable about someone wielding a concealed weapon. Or uncomfortable about giving money to churches. Or whatever.

There's one thing that I don't understand at all. Why is marriage a "right" at all? There is absolutely nothing that I can think of that would make a single person suffer from a significantly degraded life. Some would argue that being single is actually the path to a more full/enjoyable life.

[Wells]

This is a serious concern for some. You don't agree but people are afraid of spiders so it's valid for an otherwise normal person of athiest/agnostic beliefs to find it uncomfortable and therefore they should be allowed to use their right to vote to stop it happening.

Being uncomfortable isn't a reason to get to vote against equal rights.

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There's one thing that I don't understand at all. Why is marriage a "right" at all? There is absolutely nothing that I can think of that would make a single person suffer from a significantly degraded life. Some would argue that being single is actually the path to a more full/enjoyable life.

Its a right because we have the right to make what we want of our life free of punitive government interference.

If you can't think why not having a marriage be recognized might cause suffering you're not being very imaginative. Especially considering the case that got DOMA repealed.

[Korgoth]

Giving tax and other benefits to couples that single people cannot receive is discriminatory! Why should a person who chooses to not get married have to pay more! Adding gay marriage just adds to those getting special treatment.

[Åmbulance]

I forgot who said it, I know it was a comedian.

Went something like: Who are we as citizens to disallow gay's the right to be as miserable as us straight people in marriage.

[Wells]

Giving tax and other benefits to couples that single people cannot receive is discriminatory! Why should a person who chooses to not get married have to pay more! Adding gay marriage just adds to those getting special treatment.

Because the state has a legitimate interest in fostering family units.

[Moadar]

Don't know. Can't understand why two gay men can enter into a business partnership but not a civil one.

[lawow74]

Playing devil's advocate I believe much of the opposers are afraid the marriage rights movement won't stop with gay marriage. If same sex marriage is allowed then what is next, Poligamy (one person married to many), brothers marrying sisters (or other brothers), or even as strange as it sounds people who want to marry their pet could be coming out of the woodwork.

To my mind incestuous marriage is akin to people who know they carry traits for heritable diseases getting married and having children anyways. As for polygamy, I can see an argument there based on financial benefits, and perhaps new legislation should be drafted to limit the number of beneficiaries to two regardless of how many are in the union to keep parity with the standard paired marriage, or reducing benefits to a system of diminishing returns, but that's about all.

[Pull My Finger]

Make incestous marriage legal too, other else you're a bigot.

Yeah, how so? Really looking forward to your explanation.