[extropy-chat] Gay marriage in Spain, a world of change

[Evan Hamlin]

I live in Madrid, Spain so this post obviously hits close to home. 
Personally, I can live with civil unions between homosexuals. I accept the 
fact that society is beginning to view homosexuality with a degree of 
normalicy that would have nauseated our forefathers. Myself, I have gay 
friends and treat them no differently than any of my other friends. Hell I 
even go down to Chueca (Madrid's gay district, what an insane place) to 
party from time to time. However, I do not believe that gay unions should be 
made equal to the union between a man and woman; the only kind of union 
which makes sense in the eyes of nature, and even God for that matter 
(though that matters little to me, being non-religious). To put gay 
marriages on the same level as heterosexual marriages is to declare that our 
society views homosexuality as being as normal as heterosexuality, which 
makes no sense in the natural order of mankind or all other animals. To say 
that it has existed for thousands of years doesn't validate it either. I'm 
sure dendrophelia has also existed for many years, but does that mean we 
should allow a man and a tree to marry? I hasten to admit that my example is 
extreme, but everyone has become so wrapped up in their politically 
correctness to admit the obvious: Homosexuality is not NORMAL. That doesn't 
mean it is evil or terrible or anything of the sort. It is simply not 
normal. And to pass laws making it so seems to me to be a step in the wrong 
direction.

Perhaps I am being harsh, but I think people need to step back and 
reevaluate the situation.

-Evan
"The trouble with normal is that it only gets worse." -Bruce Cockburn


-------------------Original Message-----------------------------
Comment: Viva Zapatero!
Civilrights.org<http://www.civilrights.org/issues/glbt/details.cfm?id=33631>:
The church has branded the law, a pet project of Socialist Prime Minister
Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, as an unprecedented threat to Christian
civilization [!!!].
Concord 
Monitor<http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050719/REPOSITORY/507190316/1037/NEWS04>:
Although numerous countries today recognize some form of same-sex
partnership, the Spanish law goes beyond most because it eliminates all
legal distinction between heterosexual and homosexual marriages. A gay
married couple has all the same rights as a straight married couple,
including the right to adopt children. A similar law exists in the
Netherlands, and one is pending in Canada.
Zapatero says the law will help transform Spain into a new and "decent
society."His agenda also includes plans to liberalize divorce, abortion and
stem-cell research. But the church is incensed, saying the very definition
of family is being destroyed.
Some of the opponents of gay marriage said they don't mind legislation
recognizing civil unions for homosexuals. They draw the line, however, at
giving it a status equivalent to the marriage of man and woman.
The issue has roiled debate in a number of countries, including the United
States. The Bush administration is promising to fight the kind of same-sex
unions that a number of jurisdictions have enacted.

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