Jump to content

Everything is bigger in Texas....even the stupid.


Arkan

Recommended Posts

Holy smokes, are you under the impression that all states have the same laws?

 

Me? No. But in the case of marriage it would be asinine for each state to have their own laws - hell, if you want examples of this look at the race laws and how much trouble they were.

"Geez. It's like we lost some sort of bet and ended up saddled with a bunch of terrible new posters on this forum."

-Hurlshot

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Isn't the current solution of stating in the constitution that the government will not recognize the same sex marriage a stamp of disapproval?

 

It seems to me, for your point to be valid, the government shouldn't have formally stated anything.

Well, to not approve is pretty close to disapprove, so I guess so. The reason it was stated in the constitution was because there is a push to legalize it, so that was a counter reaction to make sure it didn't happen. Also one state normally recognizes marriages performed in another state, so that's the other reason for the amendment.

 

By stating in the constitution an explicit and deliberate viewpoint that the governments of Texas will not recognize it is more than simply "not approving" it. It put up a constitutional barrier to it. In doing so, the state has defined that same sex marriages are, in fact, different, and not worthy of the entitlements and recognition of a heterosexual marriage. It's institutional and systemic discrimination for the government to explicitly state that a group of individuals will not be recognized the same way as a different group of individuals, in spite of performing the same acts.

Edited by alanschu
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Holy smokes, are you under the impression that all states have the same laws?

 

Me? No. But in the case of marriage it would be asinine for each state to have their own laws - hell, if you want examples of this look at the race laws and how much trouble they were.

States already have different marriage laws-- requirements to get a blood test, filing fees, parental consent requirements for the underage, the degree of relationship that constitutes incest, rules for inheritance of property, rules for the custody of children, rules for separation and divorce proceedings, etc.

 

 

 

Personally, I have little doubt that bans on gay marriage will be pretty universally considered unconstitutional 30 years from now. But the lesson that the Supreme Court has learned from the abortion wars is that it does not want to be the institution leading public opinion on issues like this.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@alanschu

I haven't said anything to the contrary, although your claim of "the same acts" is debatable.

 

 

It's debatable that two people getting married is the same as two other people getting married? It's only debatable if you think that a black marrying a white is different than two white people marrying each other.

 

The act we're discussing here, is marriage. Two people getting married. If you make constitutional distinctions between same sex marriage and heterosexual marriage, the government is telling people that it feels gay marriage is different. Since the only component of gay marriage that is different from heterosexual marriage is the participants of said marriage, it implies that homosexuals are different enough in such a way that, constitutionally speaking, they do not deserve to have their marriage validated and recognized to the same degree that a heterosexual marriage does.

 

 

You may not have said anything to the contrary, but given how quick you are to discuss and go on about political issues you don't agree with, including political discussions not even involving your state, in addition to concerns about compromising the freedoms and rights of individuals, I'm rather surprised you haven't actively spoken out against the Texas amendment. Although you have danced around the issue quite well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What makes you think I'm against the Texas amendment?

 

Nothing does. In fact, it seems pretty clear you are in favour of it.

 

However, given your previous posts throughout the forum regarding the freedoms/liberties and rights of people, and a general discourse on goverments not getting involved in the lives, I was making an assumption that you wouldn't support legislation that explicitly discriminates against a group of people.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Let's not go there...

 

No, let's go there. If you're going to openly support discrimination you should at least try to say why you're doing so. :bat:

Heh, you can't make me answer.

 

Edit:

 

He's an upper class white heterosexual male, of course he feels threatened by gay, poor and coloured people.

What makes you think I'm upper class or white?

Edited by Wrath of Dagon

"Moral indignation is a standard strategy for endowing the idiot with dignity." Marshall McLuhan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...