Even if Mark Kirk has thought this way before about marriage equality, it's still surely a major step for him to come out and state his views now when they are clearly against his party line? It should make it harder for the GOP to brush off Rob Portman's change of attitude, wishing the same marriage rights for his gay son as for anyone else, as a freak exception. And maybe other senior Republicans, who also privately disagree with marriage being denied to same sex couples, or have at least smelt the strong winds of change in public attitudes, might now feel encouraged to say so too?

Is the GOP now so concerned about dissention in its senior ranks on the equal marriage issue that it won't listen to people voting against its party line?

Most of the media is reporting a unanimous vote by the national committee of the Republican party to oppose equal marriage and support Proposition 8.

But one committee member is claiming he voted against that motion but his vote was not heard.
[URL="http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/04/12/was-gay-member-lone-no-vote-against-rnc-marriage-resolution/"]http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/04/12/was-gay-member-lone-no-vote-against-rnc-marriage-resolution/
[/URL][QUOTE]Bob Kabel, a gay D.C. Republican activist, said he shouted “no” when the time came to vote on the group of resolutions that included the anti-gay measure — despite media reports saying they were passed unanimously.[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Brian-E;336940]Is the GOP now so concerned about dissention in its senior ranks on the equal marriage issue that it won't listen to people voting against its party line?[/QUOTE]I think the main senior GOP concern is a potential exodus of evangelicals, without which there would be a dearth of [strike]brick-making[/strike] ballot-casting for Republican candidates in future elections.

The [URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22184232"]sheep shaggers[/URL][sup]*[/sup]have legalised gay marriage.

Paul

* As I believe the Australians call them in their vernacular. The phrase is applied to a variety of different populations around the world.

[QUOTE=xilman;337431]The [URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22184232"]sheep shaggers[/URL][sup]*[/sup]have legalised gay marriage.

Paul

* As I believe the Australians call them in their vernacular. The phrase is applied to a variety of different populations around the world.[/QUOTE]
Perhaps the sheep shaggers (I hadn't heard that name) will now invent a suitably derogatory name for their Aussie neighbours based on their current inability to go down the same road. Prime minister Gillard has responded by reaffirming her opposition to equal marriage. I can't understand her stance on this issue because as far as I know she does not fit any stereotypes of a traditional believer of marriage for one man and one woman: she is the leader of the socialist Labour party from which you might expect a progressive attitude, she is apparently atheist/non-religious, and she lives unapologetically and unmarried with her (male) partner so it's not as though she has old-fashioned ideas about these things. Can anyone with knowledge of Australia throw any light on this?

I believe that same day the Kiwi's passed a resolution legalizing two new uses for sheep: meat and wool.

Question here because I start too many new threads IMO
 

Started writing a long thread, then deleted it to ask a more general question:

We probably have all had beliefs which we believed 100%, then later on there was a mental oopsie because we discovered new information. In my case my biggest one, at least that I can remember, was the discovery that effeminate doesn't mean the same thing it did decades ago, so I was unnecessarily hurting the feelings of the less-than-masculine people I encountered, many of them very kind people. More specifically, it was a verse in the Bible, and the word that's in more modern translations(more modern than NIV) is homosexual. That, in and of itself, opens up a whole new can of worms since, in my mind, temptation and full-on acceptance of something are worlds apart. So I had my second soul awakening involving that(basicly I woke up one day and said,"Wtf am I doing, I need to change this) and felt bad yet again.

Suffice it to say, if a gay or lesbian shows up in church now, I still disapprove, but I'll welcome them with open arms.

The question, if anyone wants to answer it, is what did you used to believe that you wish you never had because of the damage it did?

If this gets enough answers, please split it off. I just feel bad about the number of threads I've clogged the forums up with.

[QUOTE=xilman;337431]The [URL="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-22184232"]sheep shaggers[/URL][sup]*[/sup]have legalised gay marriage.

Paul

* As I believe the Australians call them in their vernacular. The phrase is applied to a variety of different populations around the world.[/QUOTE]

I beg your pardon? A whingeing pommie using convict vernacular!

[quote]Prime minister Gillard has responded by reaffirming her opposition to [b]equal marriage.[/b][/quote]
Seriously, dude? How about I pickpocket someone, then petition for equal income. Makes about the same amount of sense.

If you don't start with Christ, you're going to end with garbage.

[QUOTE=garo;337837]I beg your pardon? A whingeing pommie using convict vernacular![/QUOTE]
The only time I visited Australia I was asked whether I had a criminal record. Up until that point I wasn't aware that it was still an entry requirement.

Gay marriage is adopted by France. 331 vote for, 225 against. But the opposition is still trying to oppose it by legal mean.
Check the detail on this wiki-page (the 2012-2013 part)
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_France[/url]