[oneijoe]

Interesting....such narrow minded thinking....it just amazes me. I have A LOT of gay friends, that are gay couples, and even witnessed a man dying and the hospital administration would not let his partner of 17 years be by his bedside at his death. He had no other family and this man died alone, he was 48 years old, he died of pancreatic cancer. Until you sat and witness something like this, and if you are any kind of human being with any kind of heart, please do not judge someone and deny them any privledges held by any other loving couple. Even a man and woman, that live together, either one of them would have been able to be by the bedside of their dying partner. Being gay is not about sex, as you have implied. But...this is definitely a topic that can, has, and always will bring about strong debate. We all have very strong opinions on this subject, and the last thing I want to do is be a part of what could turn into an ugly topic. So, please, we can continue to discuss this, but let us keep it civil, not degrading to anyone.....sound fair????? :-)

My friend, YOU are the one that has made this personal. I'm NOT narrow-minded, and I don't appreciate your intimation that I am because I don't agree with your viewpoint. FWIW, the gay friends I have respect my outlook on this. It's the religion-oriented argument against gays they disagree with wholeheartedly.

Your particular example has absolutely NOTHING to do with the subject we're discussing. Your story highlights a biased hospital administration, nothing more. It had nothing to do with "legal rights" of the gay couple. I had an uncle pass away a few yrs. ago and there was never a problem with his close friend (a man) to be by his side through his last days.

My "point" is...a gay "couple" should IMO be entitled to no more than two lifelong friends or live-together family members. "Marriage", OTOH, is primarily intended to be a social/legal construct to allow two otherwise unrelated adults certain protections in the event children are involved in the relationship of the adults.

And yes, my objection to gay marriage would disappear if the intent of the union were that - rearing a family. However, in today's world that isn't seen as tenable for whatever reason. THAT I don't defend - I think a gay/lesbian couple could be good parents, or at the very least, better parents than an orphanage.