Issues Pertaining to Homosexuality

I would like to first apologize for the length of time it has taken to respond to this topic, I am currently traveling and have very limited time to respond to the discussion. I would like to take this time to once again thank all that are viewing or all that will eventually view and once again wish them a happy and safe new year. Lastly I would like to thank my opponent SeducedbyPoetry for her views on this debate. She has brought up a number of topics that are related to gay and lesbian marriage which further broaden our discussion so I will try and organize this rebuttal to make it as clear and concise as possible. One of the most misunderstood parts of the US Constitution is the first amendment no where in the first amendment to the US Constitution does it say that we have separation of church and state. The statement that is often misread is that "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof". So putting the name of God on money, stating his name in the pledge of allegiance are not violations of the first amendment. Throughout this discussion I will restate the role of religion as it pertains to the first amendment. In regards to the questions my opponent has asked me so that I do not forget. My opponent asked, "Do you have any gay friends that are aware of your position on this issue"? The second question stated, "If you were in a relationship with another man, and you both decided that you wanted to marry, would you fight to have your marriage acknowledged nationwide, or simply settle for a Civil Union, which would restrict the recognition of your matrimony to the state you married in"? I do have a number of gay and lesbian friends and large number of bisexual friends that I associate and party with. A number of them are only acquaintances and I do not get really political with and or engage myself in communication outside of the party realm. I do have three closer friends two gay males and one a bisexual female that really no my position on being anti gay marriage but indifferent towards civil unions. The guys do not mind because they are young 19 and 22 and both are to immature or not really interested in settling down with a partner. My female friend on the other hand states that she prefers females but out of pressure from parents she will eventually settle down with a male when the time comes for family and marriage. I am not a big fan of hypothetical questions simply because the situation that you have given me is something contrary to a lot of my principle believes. Although I do not support gay marriage I will never persecute any person for there choice of a life partner, but to answer your question I would support a cause as long as it is legal and vote and wish for the majority of people to align themselves with what I would like. All powers not specifically granted to the federal government are given to the states and I would find the state or country where I could live my lifestyle most freely and respect the decisions of the masses. Let me also state the misunderstanding of the public displays of affection. I have no problem with gays, lesbians, bisexuals, religions groups assembling in public that is their God given inalienable right found in the first amendment of the US Constitution pertaining to the right of people to assemble. I do not like watching being no matter what race color or sex making out in public that is my problem with public displays of affection. I have been a little offended by your statements pertaining to the war, I have served a tour of duty in Egypt and I am currently ready to deploy to Afghanistan. I have heard negative statements about the war being a doomed cause and it will never work but when the media is with us we March through the continent but without any facts the media has portrayed this mission as a lost cause. Please check out these sites before you continue to reiterate the same old media talking points of a doomed war. The following link shows success of the troop surge in Iraq. http://www.telegraph.co.uk... This link shows the fall of the level of al-Qaeda in Iraq. http://news.bbc.co.uk... For the sake of length I will try and cut this down I didn't realize how long it was getting. I saw that you pointed out Bushes unconstitutional attempt to shoot down gay marriage once and for all and Mitt Romney being anti gay and lesbian rights. I agree with you one hundred percent I personally am voting for Fred Thompson but since Debate.org doesn't put him as a choice as Presidential so my second choice is Mitt Romney. Thompson said he would leave gay marriage for states to vote on as it should be. You stated Don't Ask, Don't Tell as being an unethical law past but you never gave credit to the signing president of that unconstitutional law William Jefferson Clinton. You stated that Europe's government is better towards gay marriage but I do not think that governments should have any rule over gay marriage but the people should vote on it and unfortunately American is not ready to hand over the institution of marriage to gays and lesbians. In conclusion I am not a fan of hyphenating American, I do not call anyone African-American, Asian-American or Gay and lesbian Americans and we are all Americans no one person is better than another. Maybe because you live in a different region of the US you may not see as much equality as me but here in California I see a lot more tolerance for me a Poly-Racial American and I see tolerance towards homosexual people. Remember the Boy Scouts are private organizations and if they want to practice their organization the way they want. Take care and hope to hear from you soon.