[extropy-chat] No Joy in Mudville

[J. Andrew Rogers]

Adrian Tymes wrote: 
> ...explain the anti-gay-marriage proposals that passed
> in several of these states, then.  (Unless these
> people would prefer that "marriage", as a term, be
> removed from government control, though civil unions
> could be recognized.  But I heard that at least one of
> the proposals specifically banned civil unions between
> members of the same gender as well.)


Maybe you should look at a map of California's results on the same
ballot initiative.  Same overwhelming results, even in many very liberal
counties.  This isn't a conservative religious issue, since they can't
even make this fly in many very liberal political districts in which the
Religious Right is all but non-existent.  I know more than one
homosexual in the Bay Area who is against it.

The reasons people are against it often aren't even based in religion. 
Top reasons why it people voted it down here in Silicon Valley, from my
own personal purely anecdotal polling:

Wrong solution to the issue; the state should get out of the "marriage"
business altogether.  This is my personal position.

It is a well-defined cultural institution independent of religion, and
no one is prohibited from being married.  This is entirely consistent
with most law, and one could view virtually *any* law as discriminatory
to some group if this was viewed as discriminatory.

Detaching any special considerations from legal marriage and letting the
definition stand is a better solution.  Many people like the institution
the way it is in the same way they like Christmas the way it is even if
they are not Christians.

And of course, the moral/religious objection, which you don't see much
of in Silicon Valley, though it is undoubtedly more common in places
like the deep south.



There are plenty of reasons that people are vote down gay marriage
initiatives that cannot reasonably be construed as "anti-gay",
particularly since some gays subscribe to one or more of these reasons.
 Hell, one can even find examples of the very rare homosexual who
objects to this on religious grounds.  Given the diversity of reasonable
positions against gay marriage out there even if one is gay or not
religious, I am not surprised that gay marriage is DOA as an issue.  It
crosses a lot of political positions.

Anybody who thinks gay marriage is purely a religious issue is ignoring
the data.  I have a hard time believing that two-thirds of the
California population are members of the "Religious Right".

j. andrew rogers