http://www.debate.org/debates/?order=4&sort=1&fields=1&keywords=gay+marriage Customize this RSS feed by going to http://www.debate.org/rss/ en-us 2013-05-21T13:49:10-08:00 2013-05-21T13:49:10-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-Should-Be-Legalized./5/ (Voting Period) ON GUARD! I affirm the resolution: Gary Marriage should be legalized. For the sake of clarity and being terse, the term "gay" will be an umbrella term for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community. I am not arguing in what way gay marriage should be legalized (federal or states), but I'm arguing that it SHOULD be legalized because there is no valid legal argument against gay marriage. Do note that since this is in context of being legalized, saying that God is against gay marriage is obviously a moot point. Hopefully this debate won't turn into a debate about God, but rather about the points of gay marriage. ===== Gays deserve the same marital rights ===== My argument is simple and brief: gays deserve the same marital rights as a heterosexual. For a long time, marriage was only a traditional and religious thing. And it was fine for the heterosexuals to hog it for themselves (though if marriage was still purely traditional, I dou http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-Should-Be-Legalized./5/comments/ 2009-04-03T22:51:16-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-Should-Be-Legalized./3/ (Voting Period) Gay Marriage should be a legal form of marriage for the simple fact that disallowing LGBT groups to marrying is taking a right that should be theirs. I'll let you go first, as I am contending that there are no substantial legal reasons to disallow same-sex marriage, and thus it should be a right for any LGBT couple to marry. http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-Should-Be-Legalized./3/comments/ 2008-10-25T13:50:27-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/gay-marriage/4/ (Voting Period) love is love. it doesn't matter your sexual orientation, color, ethnicity, or where you come from. love is a rare and unexplainable thing that two people share. just because it isn't 'politically correct' or 'god' says it's a sin, doesn't mean it's not there. http://www.debate.org/debates/gay-marriage/4/comments/ 2007-12-07T13:35:06-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage/8/ (Voting Period) As far as controvercial topics go, Gay marriage is one of the biggest ones, but it doesnt have to be. Why is gay marriage such a controvercial topic? Closed minded self-richeous people who are too stuck in their ways, they are the reason its such a controvercial topic. I'm not saying that everyone has to think that being a homosexual is right, or that everyone should be, but for goodness sake, why stop two people from having the right to marry eachother? "You cant get married because youre gay". That sounds an aweful lot to me like saying "You cant get married because youre black." or "You cant get married because youre catholic." Discriminating against someones sexual orientation is just as good as discriminationg against their color, as far as i'm concerned. Let me guess, the next arguement will be "You can't controal color, but you can controal who youre attracted to." Wrong. Wrong wrong wrong wrong. Sure, smeone can act like theyre controaling it, but reall http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage/8/comments/ 2007-12-17T14:40:04-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-Should-Be-Legal-in-the-United-States/1/ (Post Voting Period) This debate was issued to InquireTruth... twice. He let it expire both times. Now I open it up to the public to defend his position because he apparently will not do so. *************************************************** The proposition on offer is that Gay Marriage should be legal in the United States. For the purposes of debate, "Gay Marriage" will be held to mean marriage between two individuals of the same sex. This definition arises from two segments of relevant law common to most states. From Illinois: 750 ILCS 5/201: Formalities. A marriage between a man and a woman licensed, solemnized and registered as provided in this Act is valid in this State. 750 ILCS 5/211(a)(5) a marriage between 2 individuals of the same sex. Section 5/211(a) details prohibited classes of marriage. These laws are found at least in general form in many states. Marriage shall be held to be in relevant part: (1) The social institution under which a man and w http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-Should-Be-Legal-in-the-United-States/1/comments/ 2009-02-19T12:02:44-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-should-be-100-legal/1/ (Voting Period) We hold these truths to be self evident, THAT ALL MEN ARE CREATED EQUAL, that they are endowed by their creator with CERTAIN UNALIENABLE RIGHTS, that among these are life, LIBERTY, and THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS." Yes, you will complain that that is the declaration of independence, not the constitution. Here's some news for you. The country was founded on the declaration of independence, and the constitution didn't come for some years later. Actually we were more like the EU for the first few years. But enough of U.S. history. If all men are created equal, doesn't that mean that we shouldn't judge based on things such as sexual orientation? Our certain unalienable rights (or "natural rights"), the three major ones listed above, may not be tampered with (hence the "unalienable"). Liberty is obviously a blanket category for many things, but you should have the liberty to marry who you want. The strongest point, however, is the pursuit of happiness. Now, obviousl http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-should-be-100-legal/1/comments/ 2009-03-15T00:24:43-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Allow-gay-marriage/1/ (Voting Period) The question of gay marriage is fairly simple one, given that there are no real arguments to not allow it. What makes one marriage less valid than another? More to the point, what makes the government qualified to say whose marriage is valid and whose marriage isn't? And by what standards does one determine which marriage is valid and which one isn't? Is there a litmus test for how much people love each other? (Love is clearly not the issue, as people of opposite genders can get married for money or sport in this day in age.) Consider for a moment, the slipper slope outlawing gay marriage presents. If the government can say "Two men cannot marry," what is to stop them from saying "Blacks cannot marry whites?" Or even "Blacks cannot marry?" Once the government begins passing laws in an area, their power will expand exponentially. This is why our government has specific limits on what it can do. None of those limits encompass the government passing standards o http://www.debate.org/debates/Allow-gay-marriage/1/comments/ 2007-12-18T16:38:20-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-marriage-should-be-legal-in-the-United-States./1/ (Voting Period) I will be using a dual overlaying teleological/constitutional argument to contend that gay marriage should be legalized in the United States. In this project I will borrow the harm principle, as articulated by John Stewart Mill, to argue that the only reasonable circumstance in which a government can limit a citizen's liberty is to prevent that person from causing harm to others. This view when taken to its logical conclusion would entail the legalization of gay marriage. Contention 1: The Harm Principle Gay marriage is no more capable of harming anyone than heterosexual marriage. And the canard that gay marriage out to be outlawed because it is detrimental to society is evidenced by the other groups that we do allow to marry. Consider for a moment some of the people that we do allow to marry. Pimps, drug dealers, arsonists, felons of all kinds, known pedophiles, mobsters and other criminals are all quite free to marry and do so on a daily basis. [1 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-marriage-should-be-legal-in-the-United-States./1/comments/ 2009-10-18T09:35:15-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Why-shouldn-t-gay-marriage-be-legal/1/ (Voting Period) Gay marriage should be legal, since when does anyone get off by being able to tell someone else how to live there life. If we claim we have equal rights then we should practice what we preach and allow same sex marriage. How would allowing two people weather they be the same sex or not get married affect the whole world? In reality it should only affect that couple, and everyone else should mind there own business. http://www.debate.org/debates/Why-shouldn-t-gay-marriage-be-legal/1/comments/ 2008-01-21T17:01:59-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-marriage-should-be-allowed/1/ (Voting Period) People should be able to be who they want to be and should be allowed to marry who they want to marry. Why are they any different then straight people? Why should they be shut out?! http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-marriage-should-be-allowed/1/comments/ 2008-04-07T20:23:39-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/If-We-Legalize-Gay-Marriage-We-Must-Enact-Protection-Laws-for-the-Rights-of-Churches/1/ (Voting Period) I myself am pro gay-marriage. The way I see it, homosexuals have a right to live a homosexual lifestyle if they choose, whether I agree with it or not. Now I am not here to argue whether or not gay marriage should be legal. If my opponent does, I will refrain from posting any further arguments and I would ask the voters to vote PRO. What I am arguing is that if we legalize gay marriage, we must pass legislation protecting the rights of churches to refuse to perform such a marriage. I myself am a religous person. When I read an article about a homosexual couple who sued a church that refused to perform their marriage I was disgusted!!! The church was forced to perform the marraige on the grounds that to refuse based on sexual orientation was discrimination. Now I thought that this was a ridiculous ruling because there was a whole other aspect of this case that was ignored. There was a very clear and blatant violation of the church's freedom of relig http://www.debate.org/debates/If-We-Legalize-Gay-Marriage-We-Must-Enact-Protection-Laws-for-the-Rights-of-Churches/1/comments/ 2008-07-06T16:25:46-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage/9/ (Voting Period) I think that homosexuals should have just as many rights as everyone else in this country, and that includes marriage. http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage/9/comments/ 2007-12-19T18:13:52-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-marriage-should-be-legal./1/ (Voting Period) Simply put, it should be legal. I can find no compelling argument as to why it shouldn't be legal. So, I will ramble a bit. This must get to 100 words. I like words. Words are wordsy. Words, words, words. Sentences too. Also, two. Sentences are collections of words put together, often beginning with a capital letter and ending with a punctuation mark. http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-marriage-should-be-legal./1/comments/ 2008-08-07T11:33:23-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/God-is-against-gay-marriage.-God-hates-homosexuals.-According-to-god-they-should-be-put-to-death./1/ (Voting Period) According to the believers of god and the "holy" bible, homosexuality is not only consider something bad but it's also considered a deadly sin. According to the bible, "If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them. -- Lev.20:13. Would you kill a gay person for being gay? According to god, you should. Leviticus is not the only book in the bible that deal with homosexuality. Here's another, "And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done unto him." What did Ham do? Did he just look at his naked father or was there something more to it than that? Some commentators have suggested that Ham committed homosexual rape on his drunken father, and that this was why Ham's descendants were eternally punished with slavery. Genesis 9:24 Wow according to this story Noah was raped by his gay son, and all his descendants were punis http://www.debate.org/debates/God-is-against-gay-marriage.-God-hates-homosexuals.-According-to-god-they-should-be-put-to-death./1/comments/ 2008-01-03T00:07:10-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-marriage/7/ (Voting Period) Gay marriages ought to be allowed because we need to respect them at rational and consenting human beings with the right to life liberty and property. Moreover, the right to marry does not impede our rights in any way and therefore it is not the governments place to prevent equal treatment. Furthermore, the tradition of marriage has been a fluent and evolving beast that will not be deteriorated by the allowance of free individuals to commit to each other in the name of love and commitment. http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-marriage/7/comments/ 2007-12-13T17:58:29-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-is-Wrong/1/ (Voting Period) Why should lovers stop just because they are frowned upon? It has been said that Gay Marriage goes against the bible, but that leads me to ask- "Why is this being handled by the state?" I was under the impression that Church and State were separate. I understand how nice it is that people are trying to keep Americans out of hell, but shouldn't the individuals take that risk themselves? Why not institute laws against atheism? Or we could just jump the gun completely and publicly stone anyone who disagrees with the bible. Many say that Gay Marriage would destroy family values, but since we have had Gay neighbors for my entire life, and as we have not yet succumbed to Satan's powers, I fail to see the validity of that argument. Basically what this argument means is that Christians are afraid to live in the same neighborhood as anyone who is different. Furthermore, it is widely believed that gays choose to be that way, just as the rest of us "choos http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-is-Wrong/1/comments/ 2007-12-30T09:26:59-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-should-be-legal-in-the-USA/1/ (Voting Period) Good morning/night First I will state my opening arguments, Gay Marriage should be legal in the USA because why should we restrict people from leading a lifestyle that they wish to? If that is what they want to do with their life let them, it is not some big crime that they are commiting. Also if people have freedom of speech, press, assembly, religion and petition why can't they have freedom of marriage. Theoretically gay marriage could be put under freedom of religion so why not just let them marry who ever they want to. If they really do love another wo/man and both agree why should we stop them? There shouldn't be any law saying that there can be no gay marriage. Thank you for joining this debate, http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage-should-be-legal-in-the-USA/1/comments/ 2008-01-19T21:14:02-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage/43/ (Voting Period) I challenge rockylightning to a debate on "gay marriage" (cancelled earlier). Please keep it 5000 characters maximum. Thanks! http://www.debate.org/debates/Gay-Marriage/43/comments/ 2010-03-22T17:24:46-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/Should-gay-marriage-be-legalized-in-the-United-States/2/ (Voting Period) In looking at the issue of gay marriage and whether or not it should be legalized in the United States, one must look no further than the Declaration of Independence, the document which is considered not only to be the founding document of the United States of America, but whose tenets are revered as sacred political guidelines. Abraham Lincoln invoked the Declaration of Independence in the Gettysburg address when he proclaimed that "All men are created equal," and it was on this very basis that slaves first saw liberation. In just over two minutes, Lincoln invoked the principles of human equality espoused by the Declaration of Independence and called for true equality to all of its citizens. Sadly, this equality in terms of legal rights has still not been attained in America, because gays do not have the legal rights associated with marriage. Lincoln called for a unified nation in which states' rights were no longer dominant, and he defined democracy in http://www.debate.org/debates/Should-gay-marriage-be-legalized-in-the-United-States/2/comments/ 2007-12-27T17:44:55-08:00 http://www.debate.org/debates/gay-marriage-ya-another-one/1/ (Voting Period) I am against gay marriage. I have no social issues with gay people being together. I don't argue the church-gay conflict. My position is an economic one. The effect on our social programs would be devastating. Without getting into to much detail now, I don't see how someone could argue that gay marriage would not have a harmful effect on our already crippled government benefit systems. http://www.debate.org/debates/gay-marriage-ya-another-one/1/comments/ 2007-12-13T11:31:51-08:00