(NOTE: This section is still under construction, but we didn’t want to wait to get out what we had thus far. More to come soon, including links to other resources for more details and information. A friend of ALLorNotAtAll has been kind enough to do some research and write out some explanations for us to post. While it is being finished, we wanted to share the work-in-progress.)
A few thoughts before getting into the debate…
Since Election Day ‘08, a lot of rhetoric has been thrown around regarding same-sex marriage. We bring this up because it presents a danger in that rhetoric can trap someone into oversimplifying the argument of their opposition. (Incidentally, this applies to both sides of the issue.) In light of that, there are a few things that are important to consider first.
The GLBT community has been calling for an end to the H8. Clever, but in truth, not really accurate. To be sure, there are some purely bigoted people out there who will hate a person just for beig gay. But, by and large, this is not the case. Proponents of Proposition 8 disagree with same-sex marriage for a variety of reasons: religious conviction, social concern, misunderstanding, fear and even simple ignorance; but most of the opposition to same-sex marriage does not stem from a hatred of homosexuals and a desire to make their lives worse. To simplify the opposition into just a mass of hateful people is firstly unfair, but beyond that, it put proponents of same-sex marriage at a disadvantage. If we are not familiar with the arguments, facts, statistics, etc. that are fueling their beliefs, how can we hope to accurately respond to them, much less present a relevent and coherent counterargument?
In the end, isn’t that what we are hoping for? A coherent, logical, clear-headed discussion? This isn’t about something to yell, picket, and have something to get angry about. This is about the chance to show the people who disagree with us that one basis for their opposition is very open to interpretation. This is about the chance to calmly change someone’s mind. Or at least open it.
So when engaging on a debate on the subject, it is probably best to find out where a person is coming from, and then address the argument they are making. And this means that the best way to start is by listening.
This section is a list of resources and articles and discussions that we hope you will find useful and you start having your own debates and discussions.
Hopefully, we’ll eventually see religion taken out of these discussions altogether and then we can steer the entire thing toward a conversation about civil rights. We hope this section helps both sides with that.
