There really is no good reason against it .... I mean people are just against is cause of :

A. They are scared , what people dont understand frightens them (also the reason why I fear we will start a galaxy war right when the aliens land)

B. Threw the years they have been told its wrong , by say their parents beliefs or other outside forces.

I live in holland and here there is no problem with it ..... so yeah its the dumbest thing to be against cause it wont do antyhing against society except give a lot of people room to breath , and be who they wan't to be ..... which apperantly according to some is "wrong" ............... Okay rant done

I don't wanna go all religious in here.but god might be a little miffed
Personally I want them to be happy.on the plus side I would possibly have hot lesbian neighbors...and I would not be invited..-sighes

There are several issues with this. Primarily, there are two types of marriage, civil and religious. The two ceremonies are often combined, however the religious aspect is in no way required. Religions can allow or ban whatever they choose, but they should not have any bearing on the civil side of things.

Secondly, which god would be miffed? There are a lot of gods out there. And if you're talking about the new testament Christian god, gay marriage is never mentioned. The only line in the entire Bible that might be a reference to gays is a part of the old testament that was invalidated by the new and no longer applies.

In summary, what god thinks is entirely irrelevant to the matter, and even if it wasn't, nowhere does he expressly condemn it.

(I don't mean to rant to you specifically, your comment was just the first to mention god.)

It's fine

Well, the way I look at it, the reasons both for and against are almost entirely emotional. I can certainly understand those emotions, but, I generally figure that the government shouldn't get in the middle of emotional arguments.

In other words, I just want to see marriage more privatized, so people have more freedom for themselves to decide what constitutes a marriage or not.

Well, considering that married couples already have various benefits from the state (hospital visitation rights, inheritance stuffs, tax benefits, plus hundreds more), and considering how much of an uproar would happen if they're taken away from EVERYONE, I figure it'd be much better to extend those same benefits to gay couples.

And really? Pulling the False Equivalence ploy there? Both sides are the same? Despite one side having had all the power for CENTURIES while the other has been looked down upon, beaten, abused, neglected, denied equality, etc, during that same time span? Really?

I believe this comic is a bit apt right now: http://www.xkcd.com/774/ =-.-=

I understand how you feel, really. That said, I really don't think its wrong to, "play peacemaker," and to find an equitable compromise everyone can live with. Besides that, I lean pretty heavily towards being a libertarian, and would like to see marriage more privatized even if this wasn't an issue. The fact that it'd effectively equalize marriage laws somewhat, is of course a happy bonus.

Finally, well, to be honest, being accused of somehow being smug and suffering from a superiority complex is, kinda hurtful. I know, this is an issue you feel strongly about, so I really do understand. Still, that was probably a bit on the unnecessary side of things, and I'm sure neither of us want a conversation to become, overly heated or personal.

Ya know, just saying. I'll live of course, I'm not that fragile, but its probably still something we should try to avoid.

I'm sorry. I just don't see how it'd be beneficial to get the government out of marriage. Be it visitation rights, inheritance procedures, adoption rights, etc, there has to be SOME way to enforce that fairly.

And I'm sorry, but even if you don't intend to be condescending, when one side is WELL known for its RAGING bigotry and the other side is known for being oppressed, and you go "well, I dunno....I think BOTH sides have valid reasons...", you ARE, in fact, coming off as condescending toward the oppressed side. And you're also providing cover for the bigoted side.

I mean, really. What ARE the reasons AGAINST gay marriage that you find reasonable?

First off, you're putting words into my mouth here, just because I disagree with your solution to the problem, doesn't mean in siding with the other side. I understand, you feel strongly about this, but I still don't think its in either of our interests to misrepresent each others positions.

Second, marriage, divorce, adoption, and most other related issues, could be handled quite easily through contract law. Most of these issues really just come down to record keeping anyway, and the government doesn't need to heavily regulate these social contracts in order to keep records of them.

Third, one of the reasons I find this sort of compromise more palatable, is because its an easier sell to many currently opposed to same sex marriage. In my experience, the opponents fall into two camps, the completely venomous camp, and the defensive camp. You'll never convince the venomous camp of course, since their motivation is purely emotional. The defensive camps, however, generally consist of people whom fear that changes in the law will be used to harass religions and other highly traditional institutions. Those fears may be somewhat overblown, but they aren't completely without precedent either. Marriage laws were changed in the 1800's to outlaw polygamy, mostly as a means to harass religions that practiced it. Again, these fears are probably a little overblown, as these groups have typically shown themselves to be capable of defending themselves, but addressing these fears does make any potential solution an easier sell.

Again, I reiterate, that isn't a reason not to change marriage laws, its merely one of the motivating factors at work. Taking marriage back to being a private contract would address that fear, by empowering private people to make these decisions directly for themselves. Simultaneously, it'd equalize marriage law, thus putting an end to one of the most wasteful debates in human history.

That said, I understand why you wouldn't be in favor of that solution, and that is fine. There's nothing wrong with a little disagreement, so long as it doesn't lead to something more personal.

I say like the couples be happy. I know it feels uncomfortable, I don't care. Sure a marriage is supposed to be between a man and a woman, but everyone deserves happiness.

The fact that this debate has been going on so long tells what kind of country the Americas really are. It established itself as home of mixtures. Varieties of people, religion, etc. But it sure does fight the hardest against what it was meant to stand for. People should want to go to America and did back in the day. It was the new hottest thing. Immigrants could bring themselves and cultures but recently that's all been a problem and now its clashing once again with the marriage issue. All I keep hearing about is religion, religion, religion, the fabrics of tradition. But isn't that a right as well to have one or not? So why force that on marriage?

Also this comic is funny the second link was for shits and giggles: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/gay_marriage
or
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/literally