Gay Marriage

So my cousin, who is 17 and a Senior in HS, and I were having a conversation about her government and politics class the other night. She was telling me she wasn't a democrat, because she didn't think we should legalize gay marriage, and she wasn't a republican because she didn't the the NCLB act was any good and she thought the republicans were responsible for the attitude many countries around the world now have toward americans (they hate us) because of our foreign policy. It was an interesting conversation. She's bright, articulate, and I used to babysit her and change her diapers. We talk on the phone very infrequently. She used to write to me (we pen-pal'd for a while) about stuff like her new prom dress or her dreams of growing up to be a model. So to have what would absolutely qualify as an "adult" conversation with her was definitely interesting.

And the conversation brought up a funny point... She says to me(in the context of her politics class): "If we legalize gay marriage, what's to say we won't legalize poligamy."

As I have many friends who are gay or lesbian, and am a very liberal voter, and as I currently am directing a women's choir composed of around half lesbians, I thought it was interesting that the universe brought this conversation into my life. And then, with the perfect orchestration the universe always provides, the following post on Best of Craigs List came back around. One of my favorites...

10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong

01) Being gay is not natural. Real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, and air conditioning.
02) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay, in the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.
03) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior. People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract.
04) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all; women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.
05) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed; the sanctity of Britany Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage would be destroyed.
06) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children. Gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.
07) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children, since straight parents only raise straight children.
08) Gay marriage is not supported by religion. In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.
09) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home. That's why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.
10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms. Just like we haven't adapted to cars, the service-sector economy, or longer life spans. Re-post this if you believe love makes a marriage. (so I am.)

So I think that just about sums up my opinion on gay marriage. In case anyone was wondering.