Your position is incorrect and ignorant.

The prose is interesting, it starts in a thoughtful tone and he has clearly considered his language. However, even the most cursory read indicates nothing more than ignorance.

The issue is that what is being sought is not marriage, regardless of how hard they may try to convince themselves and the rest of us otherwise. The gay community and its apologists need to find their own word for what it is they are seeking.

My view is that if we do not treat marriage as an institution inclusive to all, it might very well signal the end of marriage all together. Please allow me to explain. As we know, there are two parts to a marriage, the religious part and the legal part. The religious part is conducted in Churches some of whom still maintain their refusal to recognize divorce and the mixing of religions and can pick and choose who they marry. The legal part however, doesn’t care how many ex wives or husbands you’ve had or whether you’re catholic, protestant, black or white etc. etc. under the law everyone can marry (yes there are exceptions but you get the point).

Now, suppose the religious part was allowed to override the legal part and all of us who have been married before could only enter into, for want of a better word, domestic partnerships? That those persons who were divorced had to have their marriages called something else because, using your words, “couples who have taken solemn vows to uphold its sanctity are now deeply offended and possibly even prejudiced against”. We would be living in a world where there are more people legally bound by ‘domestic partnership’ than there are ‘married’ as religious ceremonies become less common as younger people gravitate to the ‘all-inclusive’ legal alternative. As time goes on, I think you’ll agree that the alternative becomes the norm? And whilst the more conservative amongst us might disagree, I think we can generally agree that there is no shame associated with divorce or a mixed race couple or having children out of wedlock as there used to be.

Bermuda has now legally created three types of ‘married’ persons – married, domestic partnership and gay married (those 10 or more who were married under SSM). Each with supposedly the same benefits but which one of those is mutually inclusive? The answer is Domestic Partnership.

I can’t look into the future but I can certainly learn from the past and the past says that only the mutually inclusive will survive.

“When gay couples can procreate and continue the species, maybe that day will come but in the meantime gays should find some other name and stop being such little bitches about this”

Really? You proud of that?

If you don’t have the same rights then fine keep fighting but just leave the word marriage alone.

2 sets if people fighting over a word is silly.

Just be sure you have the same rights and pick another damn word. It’s getting beyond silly.

And I guess there are lots of places you won’t be going because of this issue. So that is also silly.

There are plenty of people in Bermuda, probably a majority in fact, I am one, who have no issue with civil unions, shared pensions, one partner having first digs at the other one’s stuff after passing, and all the rest required for a safety net and security. But since when does that give a right to expropriate an entire institution and turn the meaning of it upside down on its head to the point that many thousands of straight couples who have taken solemn vows to uphold its sanctity are now deeply offended and possibly even prejudiced against? When gay couples can procreate and continue the species, maybe that day will come but in the meantime gays should find some other name and stop being such little bitches about this. Indeed, the gay community got everything it asked for except a name – very good, well done gays, especially considering that Mr. Wayne Furbert’s bill (which I suspect the majority of Bermudians supported) was on its way to becoming law.

By the way, and again I think most would deep down inside agree, this is hardly a life choice (yes, it is a life choice) that any parent would want to see their child make. Putting it on a pedestal and calling it marriage might make for so called enlightened conversation at art openings, National Trust auctions, and wine tastings with stinky cheese in post industrial warehouses, but for the rest of us with lunches to make and kids to get to school, cut the self righteous bull and let’s get on with real issues like how to pay for college, or elderly parents care, cheaper medicine, anything but this mollycoddling.

I sort of wish you would have left out the part about your mother forcing you to dress like a girl. I think that is something that religious people will point to as the reason “you turned”. So many people still refuse to believe people are born gay. It is your story and you have the right to tell it but the emotion and humiliation you expressed in that part sounded traumatic.

I have no desire to be married myself but I think anyone who wants to be should be able to. I had a friend ask me what the limitations were to domestic partnerships that marriage would provide and I have no idea. I joked and said maybe it’s important to be able to divorce. If anyone can shed light on what the differences are that would improve my ability to make those who are not interested in your plight understand.

So much for respecting their core progressive roots. They appear to have forgotten from whence they came and refused to respect their history and heritage in favor of political expediency and group think, no matter the social consequences or human implications.

But at least you was born equal !

It is hard to be different, which often requires, a journey, with learning to accept yourself and say “screw you” to others. Your opinion resonated with me. I was born with CP and my journey has had many challenges; however, I would not be here today stronger than when I was born, but showing people in the face of adversity that one can overcome and show the beauty of outer and inner strength. You are the beacon to many and I hope that those who fear SMM, that the fear is unwanted and born of ignorance. Love is love and it does not matter one’s orientation. We all want and need acceptance of being equal.