When the similarities in arguments of polygamy and gay marriage are pointed out here, as well as the way they analogize one another, the response by those who would prefer gay marriage being a topic uncompared to these things is that polygamy should be argued completely separately, and that the two issues should never cross paths.

Interestingly, while looking something up for a debate in another thread, I discovered that the first official gay rights platform (Gay Rights Platform of 1972) signed by over 200 gay rights leaders at the time, did call for legalization of . . . you guessed it, polygamy. It seems even the 'pioneers' of the gay rights movement had the sense to know that if marriage was going to truly be an institution of equality, and if gay people were going to use the "equality" mantra in their arguments, they had to note that the problem with marriage wasn't that it was anti-gay, but that it inherenetly wasn't an equality-based institution. They knew that these two issues didn't need to be argued separately.

http://www.rslevinson.com/gaylesissu...atform1972.htm

(See item # 8 at the bottom)

I'm certainly not in favor of polygamy, but it's interesting that despite the way modern gay rights folks try to keep gay rights untarnished by other related issues, the history of their movement tells a different story.

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"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson

WOW you mean you had to search for something that is over THIRTY YEARS OLD to justify your gay-bashing?

Talk about dredging the bottems!!!

Show us more instances where polygamy had been brought up by the "gay looby" since then? Hmmm...

I think you know as well as anyone that it was found by the gay-rights groups of even that time to be simply a BAD IDEA. I was very quickly dropped, because it really didn't have anything to do with GAY RIGHTS.

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Morality is doing what's right no matter what you are told.

Religion is doing what you are told no matter what's right.

If you're not part of the solution;
You ARE the problem!

How is this "gaybashing?"

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"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson

Anything that resembles disagreement with homosexuality and gay marriage on this board apparently......

Despite claims of gaybashing, Justine said it right. Even though some gay rights activists called for the legalization of polygamy in the past, that does not mean that the same logic and reasoning can be used to justify same-sex marriage and polygamy.

The reason you don't see gay rights activists asking for the legalization of polygamous marriage is because there really are good reasons not to grant those particular benefits.

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"Again, though a certain constitution should be contended for and supported by a majority of voices; yet this would be no sure evidence that it is free: an hundred may as truly tyrannize over one, as one over an hundred." -Nathaniel Niles

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." -Jesus, Matt. 5:10-11

Okay ...

So your only link to gay rights and polygamy is a statement put out by a gay rights conference 30 years ago that does not EXPLAIN a link to polygamy, but shows it's support for it?

Hn ...

I'm with Justine on this one. This is a bit of a stretch.

It would be like me implying that your support for "traditional marriage" also supports spousal abuse just because marriages in the past allowed for wife beatings.

Yes, that's exactly my point.
Just because "early gay rights activists" may have included polygamy in their early fight does not prove to me that any of the gay-rights activists have as well.
It is the same as if anyone was to claim that because one is heterosexual and married that they support the idea that wives are in fact property...because the law actually suggested as such early on.

__________________
Morality is doing what's right no matter what you are told.

Religion is doing what you are told no matter what's right.

If you're not part of the solution;
You ARE the problem!

Nice try, but no cigar. 1972? Were you even born yet then?

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Steve

Treaty of Tripoli : Appropriately Ratified
"ARTICLE 11.
As the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion"

It seems most of the responses are basically that 'because that was years ago, it doesn't matter.'

The point is, historically there was a connection. It's pretty blatantly obvious. I don't know why it would be something to get defensive about anyway.

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"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson

It's really obvious that your feeling it was necessary to even post only meant that somehow you found it relavant to the issues today. All we are doing is pointing out how wrong you really are.
If you can't handle that and want to get whiney about it, that's really your problem.

__________________
Morality is doing what's right no matter what you are told.

Religion is doing what you are told no matter what's right.

If you're not part of the solution;
You ARE the problem!

What is wrong with you my friend? Don't you knoiw if you have a difference of opinion and are against gay marriage that is gay bashing, homophobia, or being a bigot?

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Abortion is the most barbaric act one human being can perpetrate on another.

These from-hunger, flop-sweat attempts to find something, ANYTHING to make gays look bad ("See! They want polygamy! And they used to support NAMBLA, too! And they're always whining about rare, isolated gay-bashing! More negative innuendo about gays in a moment!" ) reek of desperation. They're just spewing anything they can scrounge up, in the vain hope something will stick.

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"He who will not reason is a bigot; he who cannot is a fool; and he who dares not is a slave." -- William Drummond

"Freedom, morality, and the human dignity of the individual consists precisely in this; that he does good not because he is forced to do so, but because he freely conceives it, wants it, and loves it." -- Mikhail Bakunin

"I don't go to mythical places with strange men." -- Douglas Adams

I guess when they decide pretty much anything is going to be "bashing", then there you go! I better email the moderators and let them know that no one can discuss gay rights issues in their gay rights forum anymore, lest someone feel 'bashed.' I'm sure they'll immediately shut down the forum lest anyone get offended. BTW, are you as unfamiliar with the term "flop-sweat" as I am? Maybe it's a gay terminology thing. Instead of "ebonics," there could be "gaybonics."

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"I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it." - Thomas Jefferson

Honey, even they didn't point out a link. They just voiced support for polygamy.

Feel free to try again though.

SPIN ALERT!!!

How typical of those who are actually guilty to attempt to spin the blame back at their target: "She was asking for it..."

__________________
Morality is doing what's right no matter what you are told.

Religion is doing what you are told no matter what's right.

If you're not part of the solution;
You ARE the problem!