Gay Marriage at Cedar Point: Please help us!

Tekwardo said:

There are people that feel that non white people shouldn't be allowed to marry white people. There are people that feel that people of this religion shoudn't marry people of that religion. Those people feel you're violating their civil rights.

That's kind of the the opposite of a civil right.

sirloindude said:

I know that the viewpoints of the company's CEO aren't popular with a lot of people,

It's not Cathy's views, it's what he does with his money, and that money comes from sales of his chicken sandwiches. Stupid reference to San Diego aside, the issue is Chicken sales = some profit = used to fund totally discriminatory political efforts.

It would be one thing if Chick-fil-A had a reputation for discriminating against the LGBT community, but they don't.

I lived in Atlanta for 8 years, I can tell you that every professional I knew (accounting, legal, hr, etc), including MANY in the HR Headhunting/Staffing fields, knew better than to send a gay or minority candidate to CFA headquarters. Take a look at senior management and you'll find someone named Bubba, and Buck, before you find a woman or racial minority. Just pointing out the obvious.

They're smart enough to not discriminate at the counter.(although I would suggest you look at the management types vs front line vs. back line employees, it's like a trip down the color line)

but if you're going to demand tolerance and acceptance, you have to offer it as well, and that applies on all sides of the issue.

I don't have to tolerate a company's owners using their profits to absolutely and definitively take away people's rights (California) , or prevent other groups from having the same rights that they do (other states). CFA has absolutely done that, and continues to do that. Anyone who wishes to associate themselves with that, can then live with the fallout. This conversation would be over in two seconds if you replaced the words Gay Marriage in CFA's political donations argument, with interracial marriage, or interfaith marriage.

djDaemon said:
However, if one person is actively trying to deny someone a particular civil right, then there is an inherent denial of life, liberty, etc..

Your entire argument hinges on the idea that marriage between gays is a civil right. This is not self-evident.

(And for what it's worth, I happen to be Christian and in favor of gay marriage. I just don't agree with the demonization/villification of people who aren't in favor of it.)

Let me flip this conversation since I've been following it since yesterday afternoon.

What if 65 percent of the population throughout North America was gay, and gay and lesbian couples had equal rights throughout the nation? How would you feel if every time you stepped out of your house, the couples that you seen engaging in holding hands or any type of intimate affection were gay? How would the sociocultural perspective shift towards straight people now that their in the minority? There would be an explosive amount of changes in attitude and behaviour. Governments wouldn't have a choice anyways, because 65 percent of the couple throughout North America would be the ones fuelling the country in almost every aspect of life.

I think my point here is no matter how much the government regulates the right for gay and lesbian's to marry one another or engage in relationships "anywhere", the perspective and force behind the changes lay with society. Because you "yourself" are going to decide what you want to do, and society will decide what "they" want to do, what to believe in and what they don't want to believe in.

The power lies with the people. And I have to say, I agree with Tekwardo. If gay people had the support of 80 percent of the population, and by support I mean people who would actually take a stand for the gay and lesbian community, than it would be a driving force that would be unstoppable. But you know what? They don't! It is their civil right to decide what they want to believe is right, and unfortunately for the gay community in this particular point in life, is not fully supported. It is the peoples civil right to buy that fried chicken. ;)

I'm probably pretty late with this reply, and there's a decent chance I'm being insensitive here, but so be it. I'm not really on either side of the gay marriage debate, but I do think that there's a time and place for fighting for your cause.

Twitter-bombing the digital media manager at an amusement park is probably not the best forum to fight this fight.

I want to give a shout-out to Moosh. And to society. This thread is still around, and doesn't need to be locked.

"The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice." - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

That arc is growing shorter, Dr. King. Thanks....

D-vo have we ever argued online? ;-)

GoBucks89 said:

Cedar Point is following Disney's lead. Both are following the laws of their respective jurisdictions. :)

Gay marriage is not legal in Florida, you can have a commitment ceremony here or at any Disney Theme Park.

This reply is directly to ApolloAndy, but applies to all who don't seem to understand the situation clearly from the LGBTQ standpoint of this issue. The attitude that we have a problem with is the one a lot of straight people seem to have around the marriage issue specifically, but also applies to other scenarios involving the way many minority groups are treated. If the majority of people view something through their cultural/religious views and not a real standard that shows how the behavior of the minority group truly harms society, it is OPPRESSION and DISCRIMINATION. The place modern society started from on this and many issues is a very narrow, conservative standpoint. A large reason homosexuality was frowned upon those thousands of years ago was the fear that war and disease were already taking enough lives and that people who weren't reproducing, or at least trying, were contributing to the obstacles that prevented the survival of the species. This goes along with the "every sperm is sacred" and "every sex act should be for reproduction only", thus anti any sex act besides man organ into woman organ into baby.

As disease has been conquered and people from different places have been learning to not kill each other constantly and the human population of this planet has exploded, we have come to a point with this current level of diversity in culture and subculture. Modern technology has led us to experience other people's lives and quirks and preferences. Of course this has led to people judging each other on every aspect of our lives, from the food we prefer to the type of roller coaster we prefer to who and what we find physically, emotionally and psychologically attractive. We ALL have things that we don't like about other people. But when the majority of people in this amazing modern world CONTINUE to say on certain issues that different is BAD, we have a problem. We are not monsters. We are not pedophiles or into bestiality. With all the crap talk about "next they'll want it legal to marry multiple people or their dog or their brother", the issue here is 2 consenting adults wanting the stability in their relationship that heterosexual couples are given the option to take. If you think there is no moral problem with homosexuality, that it just happens, then we DO have the right to marriage. That's the only issue. Different is not BAD. Left handed people used to be persecuted for the same reason - only 10 percent of people are that way so they must be evil. The majority of people who still balk at giving us marriage equality still have some of that different is bad attitude in them. We understand that society and individuals both evolve. Like I wrote yesterday, we are on the path that will lead to this eventually. I hope this conversation has led to some inner contemplation from some of you. Thank you for your time.

What little of that I read was mostly ignorant gobbledygook. Sorry, but it just was.

Thanks

And don't apologize when you really aren't sorry.

CPJ said:
Gay marriage is not legal in Florida, you can have a commitment ceremony here or at any Disney Theme Park.

Unless I read it wrong, the linked article was about Disneyland allowing same sex weddings on premises. Same sex marriages are legal in California which was the reason for my statement about following applicable laws.

Okay. I'm not sorry that you made a bunch of mostly nonsense comments because you're so focused on being offended.

You clearly didn't read it at all.

"We believe this change is consistent with Disney's longstanding policy of welcoming all guests in an inclusive environment."

StLCPfan said:

If the majority of people view something through their cultural/religious views and not a real standard

I also did not read your "history of human sexuality" but I could tell I disagreed with quite a few points. However, I find this (quoted) first part to be problematic.

Since when are cultural/religious views not a real standard? And who is the arbiter of "real" standards?

Again, don't get me wrong. I will be the first to confess on behalf of my Christian brothers and sisters that we have done lots and lots of horrible things including oppression, discrimination, slavery, and genocide throughout history (and continue to do them) in the name of "the good book" and/or "Jesus." I happen to be for gay marriage.

But I don't get how y'all can be so dismissive of someone else's genuine, honest attempt to do what they think is right and how you can so quickly make this a black and white issue in which you are clearly right, all the while demonizing the other side for being "intolerant."

ApolloAndy, my whole statement was "a real standard that shows how the behavior of the minority group truly harms society". That goes beyond a religious standard. Religion says something is bad because the rules of that particular religion. So because the Judeo/Christian standard is what most American's base their lives on, the conservatives have used that to deny people their pursuit of happiness because "the bible says it's wrong", not because a particular group is truly doing something that harms others.

So if the majority of American's followed the bible and didn't eat pork or shellfish, they don't have the right to pass laws that make eating pork or shellfish a crime just because their belief is the majority. If eating shellfish or pork actually did cause something bad such as disease or even death, we wouldn't need to pass the law at all because it would be pretty obvious that even if they taste good the outcome of eating these things is detrimental to oneself. But sexuality is more esoteric than physical health problems, so we have this issue.

Yes. It's only the conservatives. Sounds to me like its anyone that doesn't agree with exactly what you do. Just sayin.

What is your problem, dude? I am not this person you seem to have figured me out to be. I am passionate about gay rights because I'M GAY and have experienced anti-gay discrimination.

John Stewart said on the Daily Show when Fox News had the whole "WAR ON CHRISTMAS" thing about people saying "happy holidays" instead of "merry Christmas" - "You have confused a war on your religion with not always getting what you want." Conservatives are the people who can't see that other people have the right to live differently than the way conservatives want. What are you talking about Tekwardo? "Sounds to me like its anyone that doesn't agree with exactly what you do." That's the conservatives bullying everybody else, NOT ME. I just want to be able to live my life without people telling me that my being different is WRONG.

You're really great at generalizing and discriminating against a certain group.

I'm a Christian, Tekwardo. Apparently a very different version than you. Good night. I'll be praying for you.