Going to eat at Chick Fil A today page 14

[kenn]

Chick-fil-A: Too “sinful” to fry chicken? - Salon.com

A Dozen discrimination suits in ~20 years? for a company with 1600+ locations that doesn't seem that outlandish...

[JWBooth]

why do people's concept of freedom so often involve denying it to others?

This is very true. The bigger problem I think is that we have a system of government that allows and in fact encourages people to deny freedom to others. The heterosexuals want to deny government approved marriage to the homosexuals. The homosexuals want a special government right to marry for themselves, but seem to care nothing for other groups (such as polygamists) who are equally discriminated against when it comes to marriage. Everybody wants "freedom" to marry for themselves but also the right to deny it to some other group.

But the reality is, if you have to go begging to government just for a permit to get married, you don't have any freedom in the first place! This entire debate is perverse. We shouldn't be agitating for a special exemption allowing gays to join the "government approved" marriage list. We should be agitating to free heterosexuals from the bondage of government controlled marriage. "Marriage Equality" is nothing more than expanding the pool of slaves. What we need is "Marriage Freedom". Government has no more right to inject itself in to our personal sexual relationships than it does our food.

Gays and Heterosexuals need to stop fighting each other, and focus on the real enemy- government.

[patski]

Fuck Chick-fil-A.

There's nothing compassionate, loving, or accepting in their stance on gays. So much for their so-called "Christian" values.

And fuck Exodus International too.

As someone who had the ex-gay rhetoric shoved down her throat at the age of 15, I can honestly say I know what I'm talking about.

[noodletoy]

What we need is "Marriage Freedom".

it already exists. it's called "not getting married." my b/f and i have been doing it for 10 years. we have wills and dnr's and all that drawn up because we plan to keep doing it til the last breath.

[jojohaligo]

A Dozen discrimination suits in ~20 years? for a company with 1600+ locations that doesn't seem that outlandish...

Nope, it doesn't. But they are not innocent of discrimination either.

[Graycat]

Fuck Chick-fil-A.

There's nothing compassionate, loving, or accepting in their stance on gays. So much for their so-called "Christian" values.

And fuck Exodus International too.

As someone who had the ex-gay rhetoric shoved down her throat at the age of 15, I can honestly say I know what I'm talking about.

Yeah. That!!!

[wiltondeportes]

it already exists. it's called "not getting married." my b/f and i have been doing it for 10 years. we have wills and dnr's and all that drawn up because we plan to keep doing it til the last breath.

Just out of curiosity, what made you want to do that?

Since I'm sure you've done the research, what are the positives and negatives of it? All I can think of in favor of marriage is shared healthcare.

[June68]

I won't speak for noodletoy, but for years we didn't see the point of it at all. We were already loving and committed and some ceremony wouldn't change that and we didn't have anything to prove or validate. Eventually health insurance was our motivator to get married and the piece of paper didn't suddenly make us a real couple or anything. For each their own, but the idea of being a 'bride' fills me with horror.

[cori93437]

Just out of curiosity, what made you want to do that?

Since I'm sure you've done the research, what are the positives and negatives of it? All I can think of in favor of marriage is shared healthcare.

Yes, shared health care benefits is a major plus... but also some simple rights such as being in hospital rooms during critical care situations, and having a partners decisions be asked over a relatives opinion on treatment issues in non-fatal incidences where the injured party cannot speak for themselves. If no relatives are present, the hospital staff many times will not even give information to a non-married partner.
In most places they still demand that only 'relatives' such as spouse and immediate family have access in those situations. And there are many stories out there of how cohabiting partners of many years got shoved aside and pushed out of the process when family members arrived out of the blue after years of no contact.

Having a basic medical power of attorney can remedy this, but many people are unaware of the multiple steps that they need to take to get the same results as ONE cheap 5 minute courthouse marriage/legal union accomplishes. And then the power of attorney has to be actually presented to the hospital, unlike simply being able to state "I'm the spouse".
It is a much more costly and drawn out process to do the Will, Advanced Directive, Medical power of Attorney and whatever other provisions may be needed for an individual, for instance if a couple are also partners in a business or own property together additional power of attorney issues may need to be addressed. And over time the documents may need to be redone to address changes in situation... marriage/legal union automatically covers these things.

Another sore subject for many is the fact that non-married partners are not eligible for any retirement or death benefits. Many married people take for granted the ability to pass on their retirement pay, or a portion of it, to their spouse when they die as a means of support. It's a huge benefit denied to cohabiting partners with no legal union. The 27 year partner of NASA astronaut Sally Ride, who died recently, got no death benefits which are the norm for married partners of other NASA employees and govt employees in general.

There are other issues as well, but I think that those are the most relevant.

Honestly, even when married Will's, Advanced Directive's, and those things are still pretty important... just not critical.

I view "Marriage" as a church/religious issue and a "Legal Union" as a state issue because it entails a BOATLOAD of legal rights.
Husband and I had a legal union outside of a church, and had it as a small non-religious ceremony for our family to attend. Because he was military(military are paid etc according to marital status), I was recently medically retired military, and I needed medical benefits. Without all of those issues we likely wouldn't have bothered jumping on the legal union wagon.

[wiltondeportes]

June and Cori, thanks. I figured there were more legal rights.