Kipp

It is you who do not seem to understand homosexuality. Although I have given some sources to you.

I don't know about any given homosexual to what extent he or she is responsible for his or her state, the same way as I don't know about any given alcoholist, either.

Homosexuality in a relationship is a different model of relationship than a heterosexual relationship. Homosexual relationship is a model with which a society could not work and survive if it was general (say the big majority of couples were homosexual) while heterosexual relationship is a model with which society is able to work and survive. So heterosexual relationship is the sustainable model while homosexual relationship is just a harmful deviance of it

Mary,

I believe kipp is homosexual. Do you really think that reading a handful of articles gives you a better knowledge of homosexuality than direct experience?

I put it to you that in this age modern reproductive technology, society could easily 'work and survive' if a large majority of couples were homosexual - it might work a bit differently, but it would work nevertheless. It's a moot point anyway, because the majority of couples will never be gay couples: the most generous estimates of the incidence of homosexuality is 10% - some estimates give a much lower rate (personally, I agree that 10% seems a bit of an exaggeration). I don't know who taught you maths, but where I come from even 10% doesn't constitute a large majority.

As for your bald assertion that homosexuality is 'harmful deviance': who, exactly, does homosexuality harm? And how, exactly, does it harm them?

ad majorem ratio gloriam

Yes Mary I am Gay and in a happy and loving relationship for these past 34 years, and we have the support of both our families.
You are not aware obviously of the stigma and brutality gays and lesbians face in their daily lives, and that suicides by gay people is six time higher than hetrosexual people, because of the inhuman and demeaning issues directed towards gay people.
www.onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=12636
So Mary walk a mile in a gay persons shoes, before you make comment.

The government’s stance on gay marriage is a joke. Who are they to tell us who to marry or not? What gives them the right to tell us who to love? Same sex couples weren’t even recognized until the census of population and housing from 1996 to 2001.The government aren’t willing to legalize gay marriage because they are too scared to do so as it will mean them losing the next election. When will the government stop steeping on the little guy to get power? Not allowing gay marriage is against our constitutional right as human beings. Article 2 talks about the fact that everyone one is entitled to all rights and freedoms set forth in the declaration without distinction of any kind, such as race, color, sex, language, etc. If the government would stop trying so hard to look out for themselves, gay marriage would be legal already. Not only is it against our rights but many researchers have found this kind of legal discrimination and social exclusion, especially when it comes to a core institution as marriage, can cause gay and lesbian people to have higher than average levels of stress and mental illness . Allowing same-sex couples to marry would boost the economy through expenditure on weddings, and an increase in overseas visitors coming to Australia to marry. However we many never know until marriage between same sex couples is legalized.

Student R,
What a lot of irrelavent waffle. No Government dictates who you can love. However marriage is not just about love, it is about responsibility to each other and to their offspring.

It is the government who is responsible for registering legal marriages; so Govts are involved. Marriage registration is not a right for everyone under International conventions, it is a privilege. Same a licenced drivers, not all have a right to drive only those who have passed the suitable tests. Marriage is legal for those who are of a suitable age and are a man and a woman and is not married to someone else.

Gays are free to hold dress up parties to boost the economy if a party is all you want. In fact the State govt give funds to Gays to celebrate Mardi Gras.

Kipp and Acolyte Rizla

About the rate of homosexuals in society - which is 1-2% in reality - see point 5 at this link:

http://www.adherents.com/adh_dem.html

What about the harmful effect, especially when they are such a small minority? Well, we know that children of homosexual couples often have a distorted or uncertain gender identity (see the proposed article form Biblarz and Stacey) which probably means that they will often not be successful in the field of heterosexual relationships and many will end up as a homosexual (or bisexual, TG), much more of them than just 1 or 2%.

Even if they don't have children a homosexual couple mean an example of a possible relationship model for young people. And this might increase the rate of homosexuals. But it is a relationship which usually and naturally doesn't mean new children coming from it. Having sometimes biological children of other people does not basically compensate for the lack of this natural possibility in a homosexual relationship. It is a rarely used possibility. And I should say luckily, because such children might find themselves in an especially disturbing psychological situation - the same way as their biological mothers or fathers who are not there as their parents.

Data show (see the literature I proposed) that male homosexuals have a much higher rate of drug abuse, alcoholism, STDs and AIDS than heterosexuals and they usually do not live in faithful relationships but have dozens of partners in their lives. Their relationships are much more fragile than heterosexual ones. So children whom they have will experience much less stability and they experience the lack of a parent because of practical divorce or of death much more often than children of heterosexual parents. One study found more frequent child abuse among homosexual couples than among heterosexual ones.

Lesbians also have drug abuse and alcoholism much more often than heterosexual women and they disturb and distort their children's gender identity with the model of relationship they live.

ad majorem ratio gloriam