I have always said, that amongst all the states; it is I find Mainers most Independent and they make the most sense when voting. However, in this case I think that they got it wrong both ways, but we should not challenge their view by votes.

Maine voted 53%-47% in favor of repealing gay marriages. I am a person that has a different view than most out there. I follow the stance of Governor Jesse Ventura and I think that ALL marriage should be repealed and replaced with civil unions.

Marriage is not a state affair, it is a cultural, religious, customary and/or traditional affair. I believe that the government should not force a Church, Synagogue, Mosque or other places of worship to accept gay marriages when it is forbidden by their religion to do so.

At the same time, these places of worship should not dictate to us our policy. I believe that we should not disrespect them, but we should not be shaping our laws to their beliefs. I believe that a civil union is the union of two consenting adults (above 21). This should grant people the same rights as what marriage grants today.

For people that say that this could lead to bestiality or pedophilia; I would like to stress the words CONSENTING ADULTS. Animals and children are not consenting adults, they do not have a mind mature enough to know what is right and what is wrong. As for issues of bisexuality and polygamy, these people would need a will to do matters anyway rather than a simple matter of marriage. And doesn’t our nation allow polygamy for Mormons and Muslims? Why can’t they allow gay marriage for other religion that allow it?

Mainers also voted 59%-41% in favor of expanding medical marijuana usage. I am on the right when it comes to marijuana. Look, I do not doubt or condone the effects of marijuana. What I do know, is that it is a controlled substance that can heal people. The question is not whether we are going to legalize marijuana but whether we are expanding medical marijuana.

To me , the key word here is medical. I think that if a person is sick, and the doctor has to administer marijuana as medicine, let the doctor do what he has to do. Hell, if heroin can cure something, use it! The doctor should be answerable to any side effects including addiction. I also do not want it to end up like prescription drugs, where people can buy it over the counter to get high. I believe that doctors or other health care professionals should administer marijuana instead.

I find it ridiculous that one can get marijuana for a headache. Marijuana should be treated for pain that arouses from cancer or cancer treatment. Dispensaries are not a good idea. If it cannot stop underage drinking and smoking, what in the world would make the free market stop selling marijuana to minors? To me, that would cause us a lot of problems in the future.

Now, this is what I love about Mainers, they are to the left on medical marijuana but on the right on gay marriage. I am just the opposite. But unlike talking to a Texan Conservative or a Californian Liberal, their heads would not explode if you disagree with them.

Lastly, I think that the vote should be respected, even though a person like me disagrees with it. This is America. We are the fathers of modern Democracy. Never should a person’s view go against the will of many. The only alternative a person have is to take it to the courts. Courts are bound by their interpretation of the law, not to the citizens. If they throw it out, that should be the end of the matter.

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In the toughest of times, gay marriage is able yet again to creep into the headlines yet again thanks to former President Bill Clinton. I covered it this time because we noted that there were more Americans than we thought that had the same mentality as I do. And it is something that neither opponents or supporters of Proposition 8 would like…

Let me be clear, the person who influenced me with is Governor Jesse Ventura. I think it is he that came up with this concept.. We should be banning marriage outright and replacing all marriages that we have with civil unions!

I remember voicing out this position earlier and was rather ridiculed for it. But right now, following the blogs and comments on news site, our alternative does not sound so ridiculous anymore. Some of “my” people that would think of it being in terms of this being part of big government versus small government. The reason for my stance though is different.

I agree with people that claim that marriage is a religious and a cultural affair. That is why there are different rituals for different kind of marriages. Most Christians take their vow before a priest and are pronounced married. Russian Orthodox Christianity requires them to drink wine, while the Jews would have to break glasses. Hindus walk round a fire seven times to get married and Muslims tell it to their Imam. If marriage were the same shouldn’t the rituals be the same.

In fact, there are different laws for different kinds of groups within our country itself. Muslim men and some Christians are allowed to practice polygamy while it is a crime for others to do so. There are even some Tibetan customs that requires polyandry and are recognized in this country. Even some Christian sects allow all kinds of marriage and some allow only hetro-sexual marriage.

So why is there a ban on gay marriage? Three of the biggest religions in America are Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Majority of their sects consider homosexuality a sin. Hence, by forcing marriage as a whole to be forcefully recognized by all religions, we are infringing on their religious rights. By not allowing two Buddhists to marry in a Buddhist ceremony, we are also infringing on their rights as well.

So what should we do? Why in the world is the government coming into religion and telling us what we can and cannot believe in our religion? If we believe that marriage is to be only between a man and a woman., let us believe so. If we believe that marriage can be gay, let us believe so. Isn’t freedom of religion a tenet of American freedom.

But the government should grant us the rights of civil unions with our partners. We need them. For example, when a person dies without the will, a spouse should have the right to claim the property and the kids. As of now, it is the parent or the sibling of a gay individual that would get it. There is also the topic if divorce and separation settlements that gays cannot have.

So basically, we want the term marriage today to be converted into civil unions. Hence, the churches and mosques can have their religious rights protected and can kick gays out of their religion. Gays can enjoy equal rights while the religious institutions can ensure that gays not get married. Of course, the crazy right-wingers would go crazy with this and many gays would not be happy with it either. But as a whole, I think that this is a good compromise with both sides having their way.

Personally, I used to be against gay marriage. That changes while I was in the Army. I knew gay soldiers and I realized that they weren’t the sissy-boy perverts that I thought them out to be when I was younger. They are just like any other soldier, like any other human being. That is why I am okay with them marrying each other.

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They lost the election by a small margin and lost a Californian Supreme court case of defining marriage as between a man and a woman. I understand that the gay community will feel devastated and I hope that these suggestions could help them.

Before that I would like to state my position on this matter. I am for gay marriage. I think there is nothing wrong if a man marries a man or a woman marries a woman. Though I am not gay and would not kiss a man for a million dollars, I seriously do not see what is wrong with a gay person. A gay friend is no difference to me than a straight friend.

I am against the courts reversing the order made by the Californians during the November 08 elections last year though. That is because, to me, the greatest asset one can have in a Democracy in the vote of the people. I fully support people’s power and I think that no court should go against the will of the people when they are asked to do so. Of course, that does not mean that everybody should not pay taxes, but in cases like this, I think that the law should be respected.

My first advice to my gay friends and the gay viewers is this : let it go. Accept defeat first and fight back later. Sometimes, it takes many a defeat to get back a victory. Perseverance is a trait that is needed for them to have their right of marriage. There is always a second chance.

Next, analyze why you lost. The first reason that gays lost was because they did the campaign after the election, not before it. They did not bring awareness to this topic at all before the election. I wonder how many people knew about what Prop 8 was about when they voted for it. There were some people who said that they thought voting for Prop 8 was a vote for gay marriage. That shows the abysmal failure on the gay groups part to get their message across.

Meanwhile, the churches and mosques were superbly organized. They did not take it lightly. It seemed to have meant more to the churches than it did to the gays. The Churhes and Mosques had their message out there and some people heard it, less so than those from gay people. This election was lost more to technicality than any other factor out there and this is not the fault of anybody but the gay community themselves.

Gays should also brush up their argument. For example, on many shows on channels like CNN, they just could not give a better answer. Drew Barrymore’s weeping would not win you the intellectual battle. Neither would mass demonstrations.

E.g. When the opposing person gives you an argument that : If today homosexuality is being allowed, what would be allowed tomorrow, pedophilia, bestiality or polygamy. Your answer should be this : Pedophilia should not be allowed as one party in the act is a minor and does not have a mentality of an adult. Bestiality should not be allowed as the animal does not have a similar mentality as an adult. And as for polygamy, it is already being allowed for religions like Islam and some Christian sects in the United States.

I think that they should also learn from the churches and try to outreach and make their point heard as much as possible. Go with less aggressive slogans like “We are people and we love too” or “Its natural.” Do not go out with slogans like “It is our right!”

I hope that gays have the right to get married one day. Gay marriage would not cause the sky to fall or a society to collapse, it would just make some people happy. So far 10% of American states have signed on to this, mostly in the North East.

I believe time is on the gays’ side. As the saying goes, “It pays to be patient.!”

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When Miss California, Carrie Prejean, did not win the Miss USA Pageant, I knew that sometime or later that her question would be up for the slaughter from political groups. I have always stayed clear of this topic but the latest move is the final straw for me.

Right now, Miss California is appearing in a new ad crying out at how she was treated by the gay community for disagreeing with her vehemently. “They don’t want to debate the consequences of same sex marriages.”, “Opposing freedom of speech”, “All out to destroy marriage.”, and her best one “I am just here to protect marriage”. She has inadvertently become the new darling of the right wing in America.

She also has got a counter attack by another beauty queen. Former Miss USA, Shaena Moekler shot another ad that supported the cause of same sex marriage. In my opinion, she is just trying to return to the spotlight with this saga.

There are so many things in this story that are wrong. It is okay to ask tough questions like support of gay marriage and the bail-outs as they did in the Miss USA pageant. But it is another thing to be so involved with the question that was asked. Perez Hilton was absolutely wrong and unprofessional to ask and react the way he did on the answer to that question. What next? Are judges going to ask contestants the questions “Am I good looking?” Come on!

Next was the answer to the question. It was an answer fit for idiots only. First she said that America was a great country because Americans can choose same sex marriage or opposite marriage. Then she said that in her country, her family, should be between a man and a woman. Did this girl go to school at all? How the hell can she pass her exams with stupid answers like this. She can’t even speak English and there was no substance in her answer. She was also making up terms such as “biblically correct” and “opposite marriage”. They want her to write a book? Man!

This topic together with torture and swine flu is the talk of the town. On swine flu, I can understand, it is a life and death matter and peoples have actually lost their lives. I feel that it is over-hyped but I can understand. But why is gay marriage and torture even close to the tongue of Americans.

Where is the talk of Chrysler being bankrupt and receiving $6 billion more? Where is the outrage amongst those people were against the bail-outs? Where is the talk about the economy stagnating? Where is the talk about the Swiss government covering UBS asking the US Feds not to go after their bank? Where is the talk about Supreme Court Judge Justice Souter stepping down?

I do not buy the theory that gay people are born that way. I really do not. I think it is something that is in the upbringing, social practices and development. I do know that there is a gay gene. But like it can be turned on with the “gay bomb”, I think that it is turned on by the brain itself.

That being said, how would it affect me? How would 2 guys or girls getting married affect me? What wrong are they doing? Many scientists would tell you that second-hand smoke and smoking is bad for health. Yet nobody is going around demanding that smoking should be banned, why should gay marriage not be allowed? Drunk drivers kill a lot of people every year, why not ban alcohol?

Then also there is also the religious people that say that it would be against their religion for there to be gay marriage. The answer to this people comes in two parts. Firstly, when did America become a place for their religion. When did America become an Evangelist, a Catholic or a Muslim country? How about religions that allow gay marriage like Anglicans, Hinduism and Sikhism? Secondly, how about laws that are already against your religion? Are you going to go against that too? Are you going to go against freedom of speech as it says that anybody can speak against your religious teachings?

To me gay marriage is not much of an issue right now. Let us stick to the topics that should concern us. I am not against it as a policy but would not be the first person fighting for it.

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There is only one big hurdle left and that is the Governor of Vermont, Jim Douglas. He has the power to veto down this idea. Many media outlets have reported that Governor Douglas is personally against this but has not said whether he would veto down this bill.

Republicans have attacked the way the Democrats have gone about running this issue. For one they think it is not fair that this is not being decided in a vote by the people and done by legal and political means.

Another reason which I agree with them on, is the fact that this subject is being brought up in the wrong time. A lot of effort has been spent on getting this bill to be signed. This was also one of the priority bills set aside for the Democrats.

This should not be the priority bill in any state right now. I think even the gays and lesbians would agree with me on this one. Lets ensure that they have a proper roof over their head in times when many Americans are losing their homes. Lets ensure that they have jobs to feed themselves and health-care insurance should anything happen to them. Gays and lesbians are human being first and then they are gays and lesbians. Lets ensure that their human needs are being met, rather than their sexual orientation ones.

It is not that I am opposed to gay marriage at all. I think it is something very sad that adults are not to free another consenting adult on this issue. They allow people to smoke which affects people who inhale second hand smoke but they do not allow something that does not affect another individual any other way!

Right-wingers often bring up the Bible or the Quran when it comes to be against this issue. The thing about this is that America is not a Christian country. It is the country for anyone that has the idea, effort and/or opportunity to succeed. This country has blessed people like Malcolm X, Sarah Shahi (both Muslim), Deepak Chopra (Hindu) and Vikram Singh Chatwal (Sikh) amongst many others for them to give something back to the community.

If we start living by religion, then should we be vegetarians or not be vegetarians since it is written in the Hindu Geeta to be one? Should Friday be a holiday in the week as it is so for the Muslims? Should barber shops be banned as Sikhs are not supposed to cut their hair?

I know the paragraph his sounds absolutely absurd to the Conservative Christians, but my point is that America belongs to all and only what benefits America should be taken to account and not what benefits specific religions.

I am a person of faith. My faith does not discriminate gays and we allow them to get married if they are adults. Then why can’t gay people of my faith be able to get married? Just because another religion says that we are not allowed to?

I do not buy the argument that a person is born gay. I think it is just a state of mind. But how does it affect me in any ways should 2 gays get married? I would be much more worried if there were people who carried guns in my neighborhood rather than there be gays in my neighborhood.

I am in full support of gays getting married, just against the fact that we are having this discussion in the middle of the recession in 60 years!

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