Update: In the UK last year, gay marriage (partnerships) were legalised. What has been the effect?: it is estimated that the attendant economic benefits to the country has been a staggering 629m a year! and businesses providing weddings have flourished. The Army has seen the first gay marriage on its territory and has provided accommodation and the number of heterosexuals now entering marriage has INCREASED for the third year running...nobody has been turned gay, no animals hurt, and my sister has not tried to marry the horse. Rather blows all those excuses of a dive in morality out of the water, doesn't it? As for Caits comments: they are called reproductive organs because you can reproduce with them if you want. What's that got to do with marrying someone you love?
Spain has just put into place laws to offer gay marriage. Many countries around the world are looking at the issues, some of them are fiercly Catholic countries like Spain. You know, if you deny someone something , they want it even more. Have it there as an inherent freedom and it is no longer an issue. To PBeavr: to me, loving someone and killing someone are two different things. That should tell you one is acceptable and the other isn't. A man has the freedom to do both however. I personally wouldn't want to legislate for the second, but see no hesitation in legislating for the first. Update to EO: Who told you it was one percent of the population? Recent research shows 1 in 10 men (willing to identify themselves) are gay and possibly 1 in twenty is bisexual. In fact, the figure could be higher. Out of a population of say 280million, 50% will be male=140m. That's 1.4m gay men in the US alone, not counting the women and bisexual people. Sounds like a lot of people to me. Besides didn't you say statistics can say anything? Doesn't mean you shouldn't provide for those who are. It also depends on which empirical evidence or research you believe. 2% of the population is higher than the figure I gave! Another Update: But they are being denied a right...the right to marry the person they want to. (another consenting adult so let's not get into incest here) Update Lance: If you read my message again, I said let's not extrapolate the right of two consenting male adults to marry who they love into concerns of incest and polygamy. Nobody is suggesting we need to legislate for incest. How is this the same thing? You talk about the radical left...this a human civic issue and it has been the Christian Democrats and the Conservative parties here in Europe that have actually instigated legislation for gays. (Of course, liberal parties have built on this as we have progressed, though it has often been socialist parties (Nazis and Communists) that have placed severe restrictions on gays. This issue is no longer considered as divisive over here, and therefore it seems to show itself only as one of geography and not morality. It is obvious we have different views of social mores and sexuality in many parts of Europe and these rights are given as fundamental to human expression and freedom in Europe.
This does not mean we legislate for paedophiles and incest...it is time to stop confusing the two for that argument simply no longer stands up. Interesting too that should talk of the Laws of the Universe and then completely argue against them, the laws being that whatever you believe to be right and true become so. It's what WE as a SOCIETY decide is right that has influence on us all.