gay marriage should be legalized

The fact that this debate only has two rounds makes it slightly more challenging for both of us because you don't have the time to counter any of my arguments after this round, and I still feel the subject has not been discussed thoroughly enough. If you do have any counter arguments after this round, I'd be happy to address them in the comments section. You fail to understand what I'm trying to get at with the question about incest. Yes, the two people involved are related to one another, but my question was, why is *that* a problem? Incestuous relationships would fall under your own criteria of marriage - 'when two people really love each other and want to be together forever'. So if you wanted to change that to 'two non-related people', that's fine, but, again, why? Many people argue that incest can cause severe birth defects in children and I'd like to expound on that. If the concept of children - in principle - is fundamental enough to annul marriages between relatives, then clearly it is a part of the definition of marriage itself. And should someone argue it is not, it would stand that incestuous relationships should be legal as well. Supporters of gay marriage who oppose incest and polygamy are not being morally consistent with their values. My question about men and women was to emphasize the fact that men and women are different not just by biological standards, but also emotionally different. That being the case, I believe that a meshing of those two beings is the ideal environment to raise children in as opposed to specifically one or the other. Also, artificial insemination itself is a whole different debate - with effects it has on the children produced and the effects on the surrogate mother. To address your points: 1) You cannot compare race to sexuality. No black person has ever woken up one day to discover that they are suddenly white. Skin color is not something that can be changed, whereas sexuality is something that can and is. In regards to the impact on communities, it is interesting to note that gay people account for 61% of HIV infection though they make up less than 2% of the population. There are numerous health risks related with homosexuality and, as quoted by Matt Barber, "...homosexuality is by its very nature dangerous to those who practice it. And society is doing homosexuals a disservice when it endorses and promotes homosexuality as normal. In doing so, it is encouraging these Americans to engage in self-destructive behavior." 2) This is not a logical argument. Just because something happens, doesn't mean that it should. And just because something brings in money, doesn't therefore make it okay. Take the porn industry, for example. It accumulates billions of dollars every year and 1/5 of mobile searches are for pornography, yet it still is not something that we endorse. 3) Yet we hold a religious perspective in regards to incest and bestiality. From a federal/legal point of view there are some very good reasons why someone should be allowed to engage in such activities, and yet morally speaking, most of us find the thought repulsive. Gay marriage has not yet been legalized everywhere, and it's already impacting religious institutions and businesses. Sweet Cakes, a bakery, was forced to close down after refusing to make a wedding cake for a gay couple. There has also been talk of those (like non-profit, religious organizations) that oppose gay marriage to lose their tax-exempt status. Where does freedom of religion come into this? 4) I addressed comparing sexuality to race in number 1. The issue of gay marriage is different. You cannot compare two fundamentally different things. 5) This is not actually an argument, but a statement, and before we decide to embrace homosexual lifestyles we first need to decide whether or not it is necessary. 6) This is a false statement. A civil union would allow for visitation rights and legal transfer of property. In addition, this is also not an argument, rather an attack on whoever disagrees with legalizing gay marriage, though a subtle attack it may be. 7) It is also difficult for single parents to try adopt children. Why is that? Because adoption agencies want to be certain that children are going to be in the best environment. And a home with a mother and a father is often a better environment than a single parent. As I stated above, the ideal environment for children to be raised in is with one mother and one father. 8) Once again, these aren't so much reasons why gay people should be allowed to marry, rather they're claiming that opponents of same-sex marriage are being unfair. If we decide that marriage is limited to one man and one woman, than, yes, we would be able to deem that gay marriage is not necessary. And no, we are not granted 'innumerable' rights. Civil unions cover the majority of rights given in a marriage. 9) Finally, something I can agree with. Harassment towards homosexuals is disgusting and I do not support it in any way. Hate crimes committed against gays make my stomach churn. The truth though is that hate crimes are often just a means of expression of violence - it's not necessarily rooted in homophobia and I believe the problems of violence and bullying among youth in general needs to be addressed. http://science.howstuffworks.com... http://www.lifesitenews.com... http://www.conservapedia.com... http://www.covenanteyes.com... http://www.covenanteyes.com... http://www.nationalreview.com... http://www.washingtonpost.com... http://en.wikipedia.org... As stated above, it's a pity there are only two rounds to this debate because this doesn't give us an opportunity to thoroughly look at the issue. Also, I'd like to ask you next time not to copy and paste your arguments from other websites. Each one of your nine arguments can be sourced back almost word for word to this link: http://www.fasttopten.com...