Gay Rights Supporters, do you want Federal government to force Muslim imams to marry homosexuals also ?

No, the Federal government should not force any religious person to perform any religious ceremony that is not in keeping with the person's religious beliefs. This is how it is, how it has always been done, and how it always will be. You can't force an Imam to perform a ceremony between two people of the opposite sex if the Imam is not willing to do it.

This is a completely different issue than telling civil servants that they must perform their duties to all people without regard to race, religion, sex or sexual orientation, or telling business owners that they have to provide the same services for a gay couple as they would for a straight couple.

Hi. You got some grumpy answers, but that's kind of the way of things here. I had some issues with your constructs myself, but we'll leave those go. Instead, you bring out an interesting facet I had not considered...are all faiths required to abide by the marriage equality Federal mandate? Not only the three biggies, but how about the fringe folk, like 7th Day Adventists, Taoists, Animists, polytheists?

This is one of the things I have trouble with regarding the Government trying to regulate a religious rite. There are arguements that marriage does have secular components and thus does the Gov't have the right to monitor and balance and enforce according to established laws. Yet, there are religious weddings and marriages that are performed by government officials. I would say let the religions do their thing, and let the government sealed unions follow the Federal statute.

I'm a homosexual who thinks libertarians are too accepting of big government, so I don't want to see the government forcing anyone to do anything unless they're trying to harm others, but the recent ruling is stripping some elements of society (notably fundamentalist religionists) of the illusion that their ideas about marriage should be the only ones allowed in the public sphere.

There is (and rightfully should be) animosity toward Christianity because Christians of all stripes have been lying, deceiving and abusing others for a very long time and they no longer possess the political power to enforce their rule. All those they have long oppressed have sensed the blood in the water and are swarming to finish the job of ending Christianity that was begun in the Age of Enlightenment when people started to care about reason, evidence and practical reality over ancient superstitions.

I don't much care about anyone's private beliefs, but the time when this nonsense could be taken seriously by any educated person has long since passed. It endures only because of centuries of entrenched power and early childhood mental abuse, but everyone finds themselves in a post-Christian world (and truly they have been all their lives without knowing it), our current societal debate had merely shined a light on the issue and for the first time, many are realizing that fact.

WOW, how seriously brain dead, and typically fundie.

- Christians are far more forgiving

Only in your dreams.

- "Tolerant" so to say

Right, and baking a cake is satanic.

- Muslims would quickly chop of heads of gays and proudly put them on display for all to see

Exactly what christians are doing to "witches" as we speak.

- Why since the ruling is there a noticeable increase in animosity towards Christians?

BECAUSE FUNDIES ARE TALKING ABOUT CREATING A CIVIL WAR, that is NOT tolerance. You hate people and refuse them service just because a psychopathic magic book says to and you even cherry pick that. And then you ask why there is animosity towards chrisitans. Typically brain dead fundie trying to rewrite history and reality.

- If general population doesn't like the ruling

The general population does, at last count 60% are in favor. The psychopathic fundies are not, and they will lie about the details, as you are doing now.

- and marrying gays completely contradicts their Christian principals

THEN DON'T DO IT, DO NOT MARRY SOME ONE OF THE SAME SEX, but what does your "opinion" have to do with what some one 1000 miles away wants to do. How about if you MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS.

- why get red hot irate when Christian pastors refuse to marry gays,

NO ONE HAS EVER ASKED THEM, it is just you lying for your faith, again, typically fundie.

- other Christian people such as at justice of the peace and other court houses refuse to issue marriage licensees?

GOOD, THEY HAVE THEIR BELIEFS, but where does it say you can FORCE YOUR BELIEFS ONTO EVERYONE.

- Christians,Muslims and many others who disdain homosexuality have as much if not more a right to refuse these requests for gay weddings as ya'll do to practice and live that lifestyle, do we not ?

YES, ABSOLUTELY YES, but in typical brain dead fundie fashion, you think you have the right to FORCE EVERYONE FROM DOING THAT.

No. I don't think anybody should be forced to marry anybody, and nobody is being forced to do so. Government employees who register marriages will have be required to marry gay people too, as part of their job. Priests, pastors, Imams, etc. will not have to marry anybody.

"If general population doesn't like the ruling and marrying gays completely contradicts their Christian principals why get red hot irate when Christian pastors refuse to marry gays"

I don't. I have not seen anybody else do so, either.

"other Christian people such as at justice of the peace and other court houses refuse to issue marriage licensees?"

That is their job. If their religion does not allow them to do their jobs, they should resign.

I do not think the ministers of any religion should be "forced" to marry homosexuals if they do not wish to do that.

There are many civil marriage celebrants and registrars who can do it . Marriage is not owned by religion despite the screams of the anti-homosexual marriage lobby .

Can you describe the "homosexual lifestyle" and describe in what way it differs from a "heterosexual lifestyle" apart from choice of sexual partners?

If some people are "red hot irate" it might have something to do with the constant, obvious lying and idiotic statements from some religious circles and self appointed pundits on this issue.

Turn off the Fox News. Nobody has taken any "freedom" away from you. Nobody's going to force you to get gay married. If you're a pastor, nobody's going to force you to perform a gay marriage. Nobody's even going to force you to attend a gay marriage if you don't want to. You're perfectly free to stay at home and stew in your bigotry.

"At least we're not killing chopping off people's heads" is a rather low bar to be measuring yourself by.

No one, be they Christian, Jew, or Muslim is being forced to marry gay couples, and if Christians were being forced to marry gays, the idea that federal would only target one religion is absurd.

Hate to break this to you, but NO religious institutions will be forced to marry anyone they don't want to. They never have before, they never will.

So stop lying, and making stuff up, and go play in a gutter somewhere.

I don't believe anyone is contemplating forcing any religious sect to perform marriages with which they don't agree, slick. Whoever told you that this is the result of the law lied to you. Churches can already refuse to perform weddings for anyone they wish to refuse, for any reason, including that the couple are mixed race, too young, too old, too secular or whatever.