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To wed or not?

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Straight Couple Weddings Support Gay Nuptials
By The Canadian Press
08.05.2008 4:55pm EDT
(New York City) When Marisa Miller married David Wolfson last year, the couple added a statement to their vows that they both passionately believe in the right of all people to marry regardless of sexual orientation.

Send / ShareAdd CommentWith gay friends making up about 20 per cent of guests and two openly gay religious clergymen officiating, it seemed appropriate to note they felt “somewhat out of step with society’s views on marriage.”

“I thought it was really, really beautiful and very healing,” said the Rev. Nate Walker, who presided with Rabbi Frank Tamburello. “It brought tears to my eyes, thinking that I am legally entitled to marry this wonderful couple but I am not entitled to have the same joy in my own life.”

Such statements have become more common at heterosexual weddings. But not all gay guests appreciate the gesture. Some, like Pattrice Jones, compare straight couples’ efforts at solidarity to a white person joining a whites-only country club and making a quick statement of support for blacks who are excluded.

“Just don’t join the club, it’s that simple,” said Jones, a lesbian author.

After a wedding last year in which a straight couple read a statement of solidarity with gay couples, Jones said her “gay friends rang to tell me about it. They were horrified and really annoyed. We all felt it was so wrong to grab all the benefits that marriage gives you and just make a little statement to calm your guilt.”

According to gay marriage activist Jim DeLaHunt, who is straight, it has become more and more acceptable for straight couples to make a gesture of solidarity at their weddings. He was among the initial wave of straight couples to make a statement when he and his wife, Kate, known as “Ducky,” celebrated their wedding in 1998.

He thanked two of his wife’s gay friends, whose commitment to each other persuaded her to marry.

“It was that partnership that showed Ducky how it is possible to survive stresses and strains of having two people fit together. If she didn’t have that example, I don’t think we would be marrying today,” he said at his wedding.

Other couples, such as attorneys Kaethe Morris Hoffer and Matt Hoffer Morris, choose to simply ignore gender-specific statements in their vows and keep the ceremony as inclusive as possible.

“We went to great pains to ensure that our vows were gender-neutral, because we wanted to get married in a way that anyone could follow,” Hoffer Morris said.

At their wedding, the couple promised to take each other as “my beloved” and promised “with God’s assistance to be onto you always a loving and faithful partner.”

Their Quaker service took place in Michigan, but they refused to get officially married by the state because it did not recognize gay marriage. They later flew to Boston to be legally married.

Even Jones concedes that some straight couples should get a pass, as long as it’s not a glib statement of liberal values.

“Ultimately, I’m happy for anyone who finds the right person,” she said.

For Miller and Wolfson, the statement was far from glib. The couple used their ceremony to reflect their wider social beliefs: The catering was vegan, the dress came straight from the designer instead of a department store that sold fur, and the wedding chocolates were purchased through a fair trade co-operative to help farmers in developing countries.

Marisa Miller Wolfson is sympathetic to gay rights advocates who say that nobody should get married until everyone is granted the same rights.

“I totally understand that, but my own wedding just made me more determined to get those rights extended to everyone,”




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I look forward to the day I can stand up as a person of honor or maybe it will be a best person (notice no gender basis) as my dear friend makes a commitment to someone he loves. :D I really think the day is coming when we as a country will recognize commitment and people will be entitled to the same rights as married heterosexuals such as insurance benefits and rights to make decisions for partners when they can't.




The Gay Avenger strikes! :D :) :) :lol: 8)
 

Texan

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
I really think the day is coming when we as a country will recognize commitment and people will be entitled to the same rights as married heterosexuals such as insurance benefits and rights to make decisions for partners when they can't.

I thought you had complaints about the health insurance situation in this country? How affordable do you think health insurance is going to be for heterosexual couples when underwriters have to consider them in the same risk group as Bruce and Reynaldo who run the gay bath house in San Francisco? :???:
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Texan said:
CattleArmy said:
I really think the day is coming when we as a country will recognize commitment and people will be entitled to the same rights as married heterosexuals such as insurance benefits and rights to make decisions for partners when they can't.

I thought you had complaints about the health insurance situation in this country? How affordable do you think health insurance is going to be for heterosexual couples when underwriters have to consider them in the same risk group as Bruce and Reynaldo who run the gay bath house in San Francisco? :???:


Honestly Texan dear in this day and age there is just as much risk in the heterosexual sex world for disease and medical delimas as there is in the gay world. You know Texan it's the day and age where gays know just as much about condoms as the rest of us. :eek: :shock:
 

Texan

Well-known member
CattleArmy said:
Honestly Texan dear in this day and age there is just as much risk in the heterosexual sex world for disease and medical delimas as there is in the gay world.
We anxiously await your proof. :D
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Overview
Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are among the most common infectious diseases in the United States today. More than 20 different STDs have been identified, and 13 million men and women are infected each year in the United States. Depending on the disease, the infection can be spread through any type of sexual activity involving the sex organs or the mouth; the infection can also be spread through contact with blood during sexual activity.


STDs affect men and women of all ages and backgrounds.STDs have become more common, partly because young people are becoming sexually active at a younger age and are having multiple partners.People can pass STDs to sexual partners even if they themselves do not have any symptoms.

Frequently, STDs cause no symptoms, especially in women.

Health problems from STDs tend to be more severe for women than for men. Some STDs can cause pelvic infections that may lead to scarring of the reproductive organs, which can result in an ectopic pregnancy (a pregnancy outside the uterus) and infertility for women.

STDs in women may be related to cancer of the cervix.

STDs can be passed from a mother to her baby before, during, or immediately after birth.

Because the method of becoming infected is similar with all STDs, a person can easily pick up more than one infection at a time.

Experts believe that having an STD that is not AIDS increases one's risk for becoming infected with AIDS.

http://www.webmd.com/sex/sexually-transmitted-diseases
 

Texan

Well-known member
Texan said:
CattleArmy said:
Honestly Texan dear in this day and age there is just as much risk in the heterosexual sex world for disease and medical delimas as there is in the gay world.
We anxiously await your proof. :D

"Just as much risk." Keep trying. :lol:
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Anyone who has sex can get an STD. Wether Male or female, homosexual or heterosexual, young or old, people of all races. Noone is immune.

http://www.hopefs.org/Behavior/STD.html
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
Risk factors
HIV crosses all cultures, national borders and religions. Anyone of any age, race, sex or sexual orientation can be infected, but you're at greatest risk of HIV/AIDS if you:

Have unprotected sex with multiple partners. You're at risk whether you're heterosexual, homosexual or bisexual. Unprotected sex means having sex without using a new latex or polyurethane condom every time.
Have unprotected sex with someone who is HIV-positive.
Have another sexually transmitted disease, such as syphilis, herpes, chlamydia, gonorrhea or bacterial vaginosis.


http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hiv-aids/DS00005/DSECTION=risk-factors
 

movin' on

Well-known member
CattleArmy, you're really, really, really into this whole gay thing, aren't you? I don't get it? Why the complete and utter fascination with it?
 

CattleArmy

Well-known member
movin' on said:
CattleArmy, you're really, really, really into this whole gay thing, aren't you? I don't get it? Why the complete and utter fascination with it?


Because of the ignorance that is displayed on this forum? Because if you'll notice most of the time there is some debate that goes on about it. Isn't that what forums are about? I frequent these boards to learn, to debate, to share, and I travel about all areas of the site.


I can only stand to watch people pat one another on the back so often and how many pictures of the same cows can one ooooo and aaa over?

Like me or not doesn't matter a bit to me I'm here to debate and share my opinion. There is always the option to not read what I post. As in Mr. good question you should know if it deals with marriage it's gonna be gay as it's a hot topic right now and like it or not it's playing a role in the presidental election race. You fella's boy McCain isn't even solid and staunch on the gay marriage issue. His trouble appears to be in the word marriage but doesn't see a problem with right to benefits.

As for the holler then thous I always try to think about my backyard before I start critcizing others. I'm human I'm not perfect wonder how many more here would admit that?
 

kolanuraven

Well-known member
Soapweed said:
movin' on said:
CattleArmy, you're really, really, really into this whole gay thing, aren't you? I don't get it? Why the complete and utter fascination with it?

Good question.



Hey CA...know why they're asking this question of you????


They're thinking ( hoping and dreaming) that you're a ' closet lesbian'!!!!!


They've prob made great fantasy work of that thought!!!! :wink: :wink:

Now, you've done squashed their little fantasy!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:


CA said:

I can only stand to watch people pat one another on the back so often and how many pictures of the same cows can one ooooo and aaa over?


Now, I said practically the same thing once and....get ready CA....this will make'em flip out for sure. :roll: :roll:
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
What if somebody wants to marry their sister? What if they want to marry their daughter or mother? There could be nothing wrong with that then either, right?
 

Sandhusker

Well-known member
I'm serious. If the only qualifications for marrage are being in love and wanting to commit to each other, why can't I marry my sister or mother? Heck, why can't I marry them both? CA?
 
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