This will hopefully seal Bush's fate in the upcoming election. If he is re-elected, what is next to be banned, kids holding hands in public?

In all seriousness now, this outrages me to absolutely no end. Since when does God or any aspect of religion have any say in how a government should be run. Last I checked, the vast majority of the Western world are democracies, not theocracies. Bush was indeed elected, if you call it that, because of what he stood for and part of that was because he was a religious fellow. However, since when does a religion dictate our Constitution?

Granted, you can say that the US government was based in religion, specifically, the Ten Commandments, but nowhere on those commandments was marriage an issue or even mentioned. Shouldn't we love each other no matter what? It's about the person, not who that person is with that make up our relationship to them.

"Protect the sancticty of marriage."
Why don't them ban something that actually violates this? Such as banning anyone under the influence of alcohol or drugs from getting married, a la waking up married in Las Vegas after night on the town. Or how about banning a marriage that is strictly so that a spouse can profit from the other spouse's income? How in blazes is gay marriage going to ruin society?

"Marriage is the most fundemental institution in a society"

Marriage? MARRIAGE?! Shouldn't law or a government be the MOST fundemental institution in a society?!

Interestingly, in the US Constitution, there is a little thing called the 14th Amendment, which protects the fundemental rights of all citizens. Call me crazy, but wouldn't banning gay marriage be banning a fundemental right of choice? There is nothing that says being gay or a lesbian in America is a crime, why do we still treat it as such?

If Bush says that he would still back a civil union for gay couples, doesn't that show that he is willing to admit that they have rights too?

Our soicety has become SO bogged down in what words mean, and we've forgotten what it means to understand the words. Marriage in the strictest sense is the joining in union of two people. Yes, it might say husband and wife, but does it say man and woman? No, it does not. So, why can't a husband and wife be two men, or two women if sex has no real part in it?

I'm with Big D on this one in that this seems to be some sort of crusade against homosexuality as a whole, not because the majority of society wants it this way.

What's the harm here, really, what is the harm? Who are they hurting? Make amendments for reasons that can actually be justified with fact, not just dogma and personal beliefs please. Opinions, you can have, but amendments to the US Constitution are going to need more than that.

All of this is obviously above my head as I am just a simple person with my own opinions and thoughts. We're all people, first and foremost. Race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, that goes with each individual, and slowly we've begun to get away from prejudice and hatred towards those who are of groups different from ours. It took thousands of years to gain religious freedom and thousands more to gain racial freedom to the degree we have it now. Homosexuality has been around just as long as these other issues. Why is it any different or worse? We're all people, we should all love each other and why should it matter?

I firmly believe that when the current generation of teens gains standings in the next few years, we'll laugh at how ridiculous this all is.

Take care all.