Reply to In which ancient societies (other than Greece) was homosexuality accepted?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Great, do it.  You pointed to one person, not a society in which gay marriage was permitted which was the question I posed.  [/quote]

OK, the original question was in which ancient societies was homosexuality accepted.  The answer was many, perhaps even the majority.
Then you changed the question to in which societies was gay marriage permitted?  The answer here includes Belgium, Canada, Portugal, Denmark, Holland, Argentina, Vermont, and shortly in the UK, France, and yes, who knows, maybe coming to a place near you.

I am not sure that seeking historical precedents for civil rights questions is a particularly fruitful way forward. Many things were ubiquitous that we would now consider unacceptable, including polygamy, slavery, routine violence against women, rape in times of war, and so on.  But we are in the process of evolving an ethical framework that doesn't require belief in gods or demons, one that is sufficiently enlightened that we do not denigrate particular classes and categories of people simply because they are different from us, or because they have historically been considered lesser or sick by some societies.[/quote]

You're right, and I'm not the OP but was seeking insight from those who are pro-gay marriage with regard to a particular part of her post that I myself have wondered about as I considered where I stand on this issue.  To a certain extent, your response goes to my point.  All of these things that you point to have been part of some (even many, but certainly not all) cultures and societies since time was recorded.  Their constructs may have been different and may have been directed for or against various groups based on race, religion, gender and so forth.  The thing that is missing on all these lists, and has been a consistent piece of every society since the beginning of time (at least, no one has identified any culture to the contrary), is the idea of marriage as being a heterosexual union.  Marriage itself has had various permutations including polygamy, child brides, incestual marriages and so on, yet in every single society it has remained the same in that at its base there is a male and a female.

I don't know whether it's God, evolution, human survival or what that is behind this, but something about me has me questioning why this bedrock of civilization must now be shifted and whether that's a good thing in the long-term of humankind.  I am Christian.  I do not hate gays, and have wonderful friends, family and colleagues who are gay.  Being opposed to gay marriage does not, in and of itself, make me a bigot as many on these boards would claim.

In fact, the fact that I'm asking for examples across the globe and across time (meaning, not in the last 50yrs) that would demonstrate that marriage has not always been a male-female construct should in and of itself be an indication that perhaps, just perhaps, you could shift my POV.[/quote]

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