It is natural. I did not choose to be a homosexual, nor did I take any medication or take any steps which would lead me to become a homosexual.
I simply am.
In terms of the sin, which is the absude and perverting of sex (and marriage, and then possibly in the near future, parenthood), it is a choice and is always so.
A person isn't a murderer because they want to kill someone, nor is somoene a rapist, becuase they want to have sex with someone who doesn't "want them back".
An alcoholic is not someone who has a genetic predisposition to alcohol abuse. Such people may not drink at all.
Marraige is basically a contract. A child does not possess mental capacity to sign one. Nor does an animal, though if the time comes where an animal and a human both have mutual desire to get married, then far be it from me to deny them that.
As for a family member, I trust by now that you can understand the repercussions when 2 relatives mate.
Who said a child doesn't have the ability to sign a contract? It comes down to where we draw the line, but there will always be very mature 14 year olds and very immature 18 year olds.
The fact that an animal can't consent to marriage is irrelevant. Animals can't consent to anything, such as medical surgery, it is up to their owners. As such, it would be up to the owner to decide on behalf of the animal as to whether or not it gets married to a human. It could be legislated tomorrow.
As for incest, its only an issue if the couple has children, since the children may be disabled. This is a fair enough position to take, but if it were made conditionary that for a related couple to be married, that one of both persons must be steralized, would this suddenly make it acceptable?
My point is once you set a precedent that marriage can be defined in terms of love, every sort of sick perverted union (ones even more screwed up than gay unions are) suddently is entitled to it.
Effectively rendering marriage and the family as meaningless will have grave consequecnes on society.
Marriage is the foundation for the family. The family unit has always been the foundation of human societies (except perhaps redical left wing states), past and present.
People dont get married to benefit anyone else but themselves. that is not the point of marraige. And of course there would be a benefit when homosexual marraige is allowed. A minority gains more recognition? The ends of discrimination?
Is that in the defition of marraige? That the couple MUST have the ability to reproduce?
The point of marriage varies greately on the context. Some people get married for money, some people get married for love, some people get married for kids, or because their family chose for them. Marriage doesn't have a single purpose, in that sense.
Why is marriage recognised and protected however, is simply for the benefit of any children that may develop out of the relationship. The reason why two people got married has nothing do with with it. Even if a person only got married because their family made them, has not bearing on whether or not the couple will have kids. Some couples may choose not to concieve, but thats not the point, and these are the minority in marriage. The creation
and raising of children is something unique to the monagomous union of a man and women. This family, is what makes such a union so special.
And then there are cultural and religious reasons which may also be relevant to some people, as to its importance.
Um, if homosexual union is based on lust, then fundamentally so is heterosexual union, so what's your point? You've just proven that homosexual and heterosexual relationships have exactly the same basis, and thus this should lead to equality.
I'm not saying that all heterosexual unions are good examples of what they should be, becuase most are not.
Marriage has become a far to flippant affair in our society, and legalising gay marriage will only make it worse, degrading the importance of both marriage itself and the family, which is the building block of society itself.
A heterosexual marriage has the capability to be moral and righteous. A homosexual relationship on the other hand cannot. Heterosexual unions can produce life, and then raise children. Their importance extends beyond the carnal desires of those involved. They are vital for society, let alone to flourish, but to exist at all...
Homosexual unions can achieve nothing, except perhaps meeting the physical desires for those involved, but they benefit nobody else. As such, why should the government bother regulating them under civil marriage, if they do not impact society at all? Keep in mind that the reason governments regulate heterosexual marriage is for the benefit of children, and to ensure that their development is protected by a stable relationship between their parents, protected by the law and provided with support not offered to other private relationships.
Incest is proven to result in genetic disorders from inbreeding, polygamous marriages are rarely consensual and often have a dominating male and is ahrd o maintain. People-animal sex is too rare to consider, so your exampels are entirely irrelevant to homosexuality.
So incest is all ok, if one or both of the persons are steralized as a condition to them being married?
Polygamous marriages are all ok if eeryone says yes? The fact that they are hard to maintain is irrelevant, we have the no fault divorce after all, don't we? Marriage means nothing, as soon as it gets dull, give up and move on, right?
People-animal sex might be more popular if it were legalised perhaps? And you say that not enough people do it to make it relevant. May I ask who decides how many is enough to actually make it relevant, you? As only 4% of the population at most is LGBT, I put it to you that such a small minority is totally irrelevant as well.