I defend the core meaning of marriage and its preferential status in our society.

The SSM campaign and its argumentation attacks that core as bigoted and would reduce it to a barely tolerative status.

What is the core of SSM if not gayness? SSMers emphasize gayness as the defining feature of SSM. When marriage defenders respond forthrightly on the topic of gayness, SSMer cry foul. But SSMers bring it into the discussion and their argumentation reveals that they seek special status based on gayness alone. SSMers invite discussion of it.

In my view, identity politics is deplorable. Gay identity politics is no less deplorable. The assertion of supremacy based on gay identity politics is the root problem of the SSM campaign and its argumentation.

If SSM is "the gay relationship", then, SSMers need to explain the very low rates of particiation in SSM (under whatever guise -- including the very broad notion of same-sex householding). And SSMers need to explain why they do not propse a legal requirement for gayness for those who show up for a license to SSM. And they also need to justify special status based on gayness.

If you can do that respectfully, and showing integrity and standing on truth, fine, do so. If you emphasize gayness but runaway from a forthright discussion of that, then, you've only yourself to blame, frankly.

Erin, SSM needs to be made to stand on its own two feet instead of piggybacking on the special status of marriage in our society. If you disagree that the core of SSM is gayness, then, explain what the essentials of this type of relationship are so that it can be distinguished from the rest of the nonmarraige category.

Every person of Faith in America should read these words. This is the writing on the wall. This person is saying that people who believe in leading a spiritual life in conformity with the will of God as expressed in most of the world's major religious traditions should NOT BE ALLOWED TO WORK WITH YOUNG PEOPLE (just like pedophiles). God help us!

“It seems pretty obvious that Mr. Mendell has a problem with gay people. As I previously noted, his views are at odd with his own professional organization, the American Counseling Association, as well as the American Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Psychological Association, the American School Health Association, the National Association of School Psychologists, the National Association of Social Workers, and the National Education Association. The guy seems to have a broken watch that is stuck somewhere in the 18th century.”

Oh, ok, yeah this was the Maine guidance counselor who violated his ACA oath by publicly stating his opposition to homosexuality. We had a local college student who got kicked out of her counseling program for the same thing. I think homophobic people need to find the kinds of jobs where they don’t have to work with young people or others who depend on having a safe emotional environment.

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 /Christian Newswire/ — On Monday, November 16 at 1:30 PM, the Coalition for Faith and Freedom, an ad hoc group of concerned clergy, will rally in front of the Justice Department in Washington, D.C. to test the limits of the expanded federal hate crimes law.

On October 28, President Barack Obama signed into law a measure extending the federal hate crimes statute to include so-called sexual orientation. The ministers believe this will criminalize all criticism of homosexual behavior, including that contained in the Bible.

To test this belief and protest a clear violation of First Amendment freedom of speech and religion, various clergy will preach short sermons and read passages from the Bible regarding homosexual behavior. Like Dr. Martin Luther King and the Sixties Civil Rights movement, they will engage in civil disobedience to protest injustice.

Those participating in the pray-in will include Vision America Action President Dr. Rick Scarborough, Gary Cass of the Christian Anti-Defamation Commission, Bishop E.W. Jackson of STAND America, Brian Camenker of Mass Resistance (a group which has fought gay marriage in the Bay State), Paul Blair and Steve Kern of Reclaim Oklahoma, Pat Mahoney of the Christian Defense Coalition, Brad Cranston of Iowa Baptists for Biblical Values, and Jim Garlow, a leader of the Prop 8 battle in California, which overturned the judicial imposition of gay marriage.

Legal challenges to the unconstitutional law may also be announced at that time. Mat Staver, Esq., founder and president of Liberty Counsel and dean of Liberty Law School, has been retained as their counsel and will be present at a press conference preceding the event.

Pastor Paul Blair, founder of Reclaiming Oklahoma for Christ, summed up the sentiments of participants, when he observed: “Pastors have preached the Bible in America for more than 400 years, pointing the people to Jesus Christ and standing against sin. If preaching the Bible is now against the law, then let us be arrested. If not, may every pastor in America know that he can stand strong and proclaim Biblical Truth without fear of persecution or prosecution.”

You can't credibly say after what D.C. is doing to Catholic Charities, and all the other people (Don Mendell etc) who are being punished, fined or limited for expressing their views on marriage that SSM upholds free speech.

As it was stated earlier:

Samantha: And that is the difference isn’t it Kevinn? You define discrimination based on action, not on race, making a protected class of those who decide to act in the same way you do. What about those who believe in a different moral code for their actions? Suppress them! Limit them! Use the law to scourge and punish them! That is not tolerance. That is fascism.

As Samantha said, you're mincing words and toying with definitions. Discrimination means to choose between. Choosing to favor one people over another is looked down on, but choosing one action over another is encouraged. You'll manipulate the language to push your favorite issue, but you can't explain why discriminating against lifestyle choices of pedophilia, alcoholism, drug abuse etc is right but discriminating against your particular favorite evil isn't.

Limiting who can speak against your favorite action is not promoting free speech, freedom of religion or free choice.

That was one of the strangest posts on here, and that’s saying something. No one is trying to silence you, as if that were even possible. Some of us are trying to show you that your policy of outlawing same-sex marriage hurts gay people and their children. Married couples stay together longer, live better, healthier lives, and their children also have better lives. What’s so hard about this for you to comprehend?

That someone forcefully disagrees with a social policy that hurts people is a good thing! You want public approval for your homophobia. Don’t count on it! And don’t play the victim because you’re not getting a pass from those of us who believe in marriage equality.

Are you advocating SSM? Then you are advocating silencing the voices that do not agree with your own. Dissent cannot live side by side with the gay agenda. Haven't you been listening to Kevinn?