Vatican says gays are undeserving of basic human rights.

[notyoueither]

Meaningless.

Similar issues with group marriages.

Anyways, marriage as a fundament right is very disagreeable for me.

JM

We disagree.

I see it as a fundamental part of the human condition and as such should be viewed as a basic human right.

[notyoueither]

I definitely don't think we have a fundamental right to mate.

I think that is an absurd notion.

[notyoueither]

I think it needs to be viewed as a basic human right to protect people from the sort of busy-bodiedness that Ben exhibits.

The list of people who were not allowed to wed because of what other people thought at various points in history is not a short one.

[Traianvs]

It is also negative to add fundamental rights for everything.

Pretty soon I will have the fundamental right to wear what I want and the fundamental right to drive and so on...

JM

It can be perceived as a fundamental right because it's is closely linked to the fundamental right not be discriminated against (by the state in particular).

If we want to treat each and every person equally, then it makes perfect sense that like heterosexuals, gays should also be given the opportunity to marry.

I'll repeat myself briefly: whereas gay marriage is not a fundamental right (like marriage is not a fundamantal right), in practice it is a human right, namely the right to non-discrimination.

[MOBIUS]

The Vatican has likened being gay to incest and pedophilia in condemning a United Nations gay rights resolution

So basically they're saying that gays are just like catholic priests?

[Felch]

Most Catholic priests are gay. You see, instead of letting them marry and form healthy relationships, we just tell them to bottle up their feelings, and then give them unlimited access to children.

[Pax]

What makes marriage a human right? What are the downfalls of polygamy as far as a society besides making it harder to figure out who is related to who?
For me, a guy who has been married twice. Marriage is an entangling alliance that has a lot of negative consequences when you are in it and even more when you try to dissolve it.
I would much rather be in a situation where I live with someone with benefits like mutual health insurance and etc than too actually have to marry someone. So I can leave easily if things are not working out.
I think this whole marriage deal is a sucker proposition for the gays. They don't know what they are getting into.
Also, if a person wants to put themselves in a position where they have multiple people nagging them then why not polygamy.

[loinburger]

I'd be a lot more sympathetic to the Catholic opposition to gay marriage if they didn't do ridiculous things like compare homosexuality to violent crime like rape and pedophilia.

[notyoueither]

What makes marriage a human right?

Humans do. By deciding it is. Many humans do, but not all. Yet.

What are the downfalls of polygamy as far as a society besides making it harder to figure out who is related to who?

For me it's the exploitation in cultures where girls are raised as chattel and boys are driven off if they are not part of the inner circle.

From societies POV, it probably is not a good idea to have a lot of poor, young males floating around who have no one to pair off with and settle down.

For children it can get messy when there is one father for 20 or 40 or more children.

[Pax]

I'm starting a polygamy thread.

[Ben Kenobi]

That's not really an argument, Herr Doctor.

This is GNN, who knew that facts matter?

Do you think that getting married is a basic human right?

Apparently it trumps freedom of religion too. Who knew?

The Catholic church has just as much a right to practice their beliefs as gay people have to reject the Catholic church.

[Ben Kenobi]

Humans do. By deciding it is. Many humans do, but not all. Yet

So I have the right to sue someone who chooses not to marry me?

[Ben Kenobi]

If we want to treat each and every person equally, then it makes perfect sense that like heterosexuals, gays should also be given the opportunity to marry.

They already have the same right as everyone else. What they do not have, which is what marriage does not do, is the right to marry whomever they want. Nobody has that right. There are legal restrictions on marriage, (one at a time, man and woman, consanguinity, and yes, polygamy and age restrictions.)

This is why the comparison is being made. If marriage is a natural right then all of these restrictions go too.

[notyoueither]

Shut up, Ben.

[loinburger]

The Catholic church has just as much a right to practice their beliefs as gay people have to reject the Catholic church.

This isn't true - the Catholic priests have to answer to secular law when they rape children, so there are some limits on what religious practices are permissible in a secular society.