California sees business boom from gay weddings

[HtownWxBoy]

California sees business boom from gay weddings

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080604/ts_nm/...gays_tourism_dc

We gays are good at stimulating the economy, also!

[TheNiche]

Do we really have to endure this thread again?

[HtownWxBoy]

Do we really have to endure this thread again?

... this is a different thread... nobody is forced to read or reply.

[jb4647]

The anti-gay marriage folks are alot more intelligent than we give them credit for. Just like the old segregationists of the past, they realize that once you let something like this occur, most people will realize that the world isn't gonna fall off of its axis and they will accept it.

The segregations knew that if they allowed integration of the races, it would be that much harder for them to spread false lies about "those people." I was lucky enough to be born in 1972, thus my schooling was an integrated one. Many of "those people" were my friends so when older folks would spout their prejudiced viewpoints, I knew for a fact it was B.S.

The same thing will occur with gay marriage. Once it is allowed and average folks get used to the idea and find that it leads to a stable and open society, then the stigma of being gay will go away and the anti-gay supporters will lose a key issue with which to divide people.

I speak these words as a white straight man that learned long ago that homophobia, like racism before it, is based in ignorance. I don't want to be ignorant and I feel society progresses from stupidity to intelligence over the years.

Gay marriage is going to be legal one of these days people, its just a matter of time. Those that fight against it are like trying to push the tides back in the ocean.

[editor]

Keep it STRICTLY on topic. I'm going to be watching this one, too.

[BryanS]

In many states, and even at the US Govt level, government reports have shown that allowing gay people to get married will increase tax revenue, in many times due to the marriage (tax) penalty. The report gets turned in to committee... but no. No need for more tax dollars. Legislators just ignore the black and white facts. This just goes to show that people who get married DON'T get married for the tax benefits ("We can file jointly as married now!") - but all the other reasons.

[Reefmonkey]

In many states, and even at the US Govt level, government reports have shown that allowing gay people to get married will increase tax revenue, in many times due to the marriage (tax) penalty. The report gets turned in to committee... but no. No need for more tax dollars. Legislators just ignore the black and white facts. This just goes to show that people who get married DON'T get married for the tax benefits ("We can file jointly as married now!") - but all the other reasons.

Well said.

[Pumapayam]

California sees business boom from gay weddings

Dude, I am on your team, and I know it's close to pride, but man, what's with the rainbow. Are you one of those that puts it on your car?

BTW, I knew we had tons of expendable cash!

Do we really have to endure this thread again?

I vote merge. It's not my thread, but I think it should be.

[Reefmonkey]

I vote merge. It's not my thread, but I think it should be.

Previous thread was locked. I suppose that's my fault. Someone said "The breeders of the world beat y'all to that title (marriage). Name it something else." and I replied that made him sound like "a 6 year-old on a Jungle Jim in a public park telling other kids 'I was here first - go find your own.'" That got me a warning from "editor". Then that same person said that Pope Benedict 16 agrees that gay marriage is "pseudomarriage." I pointed out that Benedict also said noncatholic congregations weren't real churches. I said that was patronizing and demeaning for Benedict to say so. Someone else said "truth is truth. It's not Benedict 16's fault you can't see that." I replied "Dogma is dogma. Unfortunately you can't see that." At that point "editor" locked the thread. So, definitely my fault thread got locked. Sorry about that. It was not my intention, but with all of the intolerant things which had been posted in there for several pages, I don't think it was a big loss.

I'm not gay, and I'm not any kind of Christian, but I don't like to see belittling things said about any group, be they gay people, protestants, catholics, or anyone else, and so I'm going to say something about that. I guess here on HAIF, general comments about groups that border on defamation are tolerated, but my intolerance of intolerance is not tolerated. Try saying that three times fast.

[MidtownCoog]

Oh stop taking yourself so seriously...

I will say that appointing yourself defender of the world's "belittled" is very noble of you.

[Pumapayam]

Previous thread was locked. I suppose that's my fault.

News to me, and now I know, and knowing is half the battle. . .

. . . so how about them gays with their expendable income. We don't need no stimulus checks to get the economy rolling. Points for us.

[gwilson]

News to me, and now I know, and knowing is half the battle. . .

. . . so how about them gays with their expendable income. We don't need no stimulus checks to get the economy rolling. Points for us.

I'm all for building luxury residences for gay couples with tons of expendable income!

I think the biggest reason threads like these (and the topics at hand) annoy the crap out of me is my constitutionalist leanings. None of this stuff should be up to the government at all. It isn't their jurisdiction. So I get pretty flustered when people lobby for something, regardless of which side, since there should be no laws one way or the other.

[MidtownCoog]

Well of course y'all have expendable income...

[Reefmonkey]

Oh stop taking yourself so seriously...

I will say that appointing yourself defender of the world's "belittled" is very noble of you.

I also pick up litter when I'm hiking and paddling, and don't laugh along with racist or sexist jokes just to "fit in". I do them because they are the right thing to do (or at least not the wrong thing to do) but I know they are little things. Doesn't make me a "self-appointed defender" of anything - just makes me someone trying to be a decent person, not a saint. Your exaggeration of it is pure defensiveness.

Back on topic, personally, I don't want to see gay marriage result in increased tax revenues. I'd like to see the tax code rewritten so that the marriage penalty is done away with for couples of all persuasions. Well, I guess it would be okay if the increased tax revenues came from more business for wedding coordinators, caterers, florists, etc.

[MidtownCoog]

Not being defensive. But I am amused that you see yourself as the annointed one with moral clarity on all issues large and small.

As far as the gay weddings in Cali. Well, it is the home of Mickey Mouse.

I'm going to Disney Land!

[gwilson]

I also pick up litter when I'm hiking and paddling, and don't laugh along with racist or sexist jokes just to "fit in". I do them because they are the right thing to do (or at least not the wrong thing to do) but I know they are little things. Doesn't make me a "self-appointed defender" of anything - just makes me someone trying to be a decent person, not a saint. Your exaggeration of it is pure defensiveness.

Back on topic, personally, I don't want to see gay marriage result in increased tax revenues. I'd like to see the tax code rewritten so that the marriage penalty is done away with for couples of all persuasions. Well, I guess it would be okay if the increased tax revenues came from more business for wedding coordinators, caterers, florists, etc.

Erm, I don't think I know of anyone who laughs at jokes to fit in. If they laugh, it is usually because it is funny. Something can be in bad taste and still be funny. Humor is humor and shouldn't be taken so seriously (that COMPLETELY defeats the purpose). Considering there are quite a few jokes regarding ethnicity, sex, etc that are actually funny, I take exception to your notion that anyone that tells a joke on those subjects or laughs at them is somehow inherently wrong. You can choose not to laugh, but you shouldn't judge others. If you do choose not to laugh, I'd say lighten up.

[RedScare]

Not being defensive. But I am amused that you see yourself as the annointed one with moral clarity on all issues large and small.

Then again, perhaps you are...

Nuclear Family drops below 25% of US households

Those who wish to hark back to the nuclear family -- which reached a peak of 45 percent of the American population in 1960 -- face formidable odds of success. The most recent census figures show that, for the first time, the percentage of Americans living in nuclear families has declined to below 25 percent of the population. (As this figure represents married couples living with children, it also includes blended families, so the percentage of married couples living with their biological children is presumably lower.)

The simple fact is, There are more single parent households (51%) and childless households (25%) than households with children. Many of the anti-gay marriage arguments are beginning to have a "Remember the Alamo" sound to them. Speaking as if the majority of US households consist of a man, a woman, and their biologically conceived children is simply ignoring the reality of 21st Century US demographics.

[Reefmonkey]

But I am amused that you see yourself as the annointed one with moral clarity on all issues large and small.

Those are your words, not mine. You've created a straw man to attack in an attempt to put me down, I get it.

Me? Annointed? I thought that everyone was supposed to do what they could to be kind to others, and to stand up for others' rights. No, I don't see myself as anything special - I believe that most people are decent and do their best to show others kindness and stand up for their rights. Your attempt to twist my words otherwise is as transparent as it is unoriginal.

However, this does bring up my reasons, as a heterosexual man, for supporting the right of gay people to get married. I remember all the girls I dated before I met my wife who didn't fit - we either had different values, different expectations, a few weren't honest, or sometimes one or the other of us realized we just didn't have enough interests in common. When I met my wife, and as our relationship grew and we realized how compatible we were, how happy we were together, it made us so happy. We knew getting married - not the economic benefits - but the commitment to each other in front of our friends and family, would be a wonderful, joyous thing. Getting married gave us happiness. There are so many natural barriers to lasting happiness with another person. When two people find in each other someone they can be truly happy with, and want to make that next step - it seems unkind, meanspirited to deny them that just because one finds their relationship "icky". When two people have taken on all the trappings of marriage, and others say "don't let them call it marriage" for no real pragmatic reason, but just out of spite, that's not kind.

And if it gives wedding coordinators and caterers a new target market - so much the better.

[Reefmonkey]

Erm, I don't think I know of anyone who laughs at jokes to fit in.

Were you homeschooled in junior high and high school? You were obviously not a member of a fraternity in college. For you to blithly suggest that there aren't people out there who do things to fit in demonstrates a fundamental ignorance of human nature.

Considering there are quite a few jokes regarding ethnicity, sex, etc that are actually funny, I take exception to your notion that anyone that tells a joke on those subjects or laughs at them is somehow inherently wrong. You can choose not to laugh, but you shouldn't judge others.

Notice I did not say I do not laugh at jokes "regarding ethnicity, sex, etc.", I specifically said I do not laugh at racist or sexist jokes. There is a difference. An example, I recently went fishing with a guide who all day long made jokes about Hillary Clinton being a d*ke. I find calling Hillary Clinton a lesbian to be offensive to lesbians. Oh, and I think d*ke is an ulgy word, too. He also used a choice word in jokes about Obama that starts with N. I explicitly said "racist or sexist". You deliberately changed my wording to a softer "regarding ethnicity, sex, etc.", - it was dishonest and proves that you couldn't actually come up with a decent retort to what I actually said, so you had to misrepresent what I had to say and attack that misrepresentation.

Also, note that I did not pass any judgement on people who tell racist or sexist jokes, I only said I don't laugh at them. so your sanctimonious accusation of me being judgmental is off the mark as well.

[westguy76]

Were you homeschooled in junior high and high school? You were obviously not a member of a fraternity in college. For you to blithly suggest that there aren't people out there who do things to fit in demonstrates a fundamental ignorance of human nature.

Notice I did not say I do not laugh at jokes "regarding ethnicity, sex, etc.", I specifically said I do not laugh at racist or sexist jokes. There is a difference. An example, I recently went fishing with a guide who all day long made jokes about Hillary Clinton being a d*ke. I find calling Hillary Clinton a lesbian to be offensive to lesbians. Oh, and I think d*ke is an ulgy word, too. He also used a choice word in jokes about Obama that starts with N. I explicitly said "racist or sexist". You deliberately changed my wording to a softer "regarding ethnicity, sex, etc.", - it was dishonest and proves that you couldn't actually come up with a decent retort to what I actually said, so you had to misrepresent what I had to say and attack that misrepresentation.

Also, note that I did not pass any judgement on people who tell racist or sexist jokes, I only said I don't laugh at them. so your sanctimonious accusation of me being judgmental is off the mark as well.

I laugh at racist and sexist jokes. When they are funny. I don't have the ability to hold back if it' funny. If we can't laugh at our stupidity than we are missing out because there is a lot of it. There is a heritage of it. And sometimes it's funny. Why should I worry if it is going to offend someone who is not standing there next to me with the chance to be offended.

[editor]

In many states, and even at the US Govt level, government reports have shown that allowing gay people to get married will increase tax revenue, in many times due to the marriage (tax) penalty. The report gets turned in to committee... but no. No need for more tax dollars. Legislators just ignore the black and white facts. This just goes to show that people who get married DON'T get married for the tax benefits ("We can file jointly as married now!") - but all the other reasons.

Interesting point. I guess homosexual couples can be considered the original DINKs. It explains why they're targeted so often by travel companies and tour operators.

[Reefmonkey]

Sorry editor, it's gotten off-topic again. I seem to be a lightning rod for that. Let's get it back on topic:

We've all talked about the benefits that gay couples miss out on because of bans on gay marriage, and potential benefits to tax revenues if we let them get married, but, for the sake of being a Devil's Advocate, what about the flipside to this argument? Maybe in some ways gay couples get a free ride, which is unfair to heterosexual couples? Heterosexual couples are under a lot of pressure to get married, both from inside the relationship, and from family and society in general. Gay couples have no such pressure on them, and have a built-in excuse - "oh, we'd love to get married and start paying the marriage penalty in our taxes...but no one will let us get married. Yeah, that's it." How do you who are opposed to gay marriage feel about this?

[editor]

Previous thread was locked. I suppose that's my fault. Someone said "The breeders of the world beat y'all to that title (marriage). Name it something else." and I replied that made him sound like "a 6 year-old on a Jungle Jim in a public park telling other kids 'I was here first - go find your own.'" That got me a warning from "editor". Then that same person said that Pope Benedict 16 agrees that gay marriage is "pseudomarriage." I pointed out that Benedict also said noncatholic congregations weren't real churches. I said that was patronizing and demeaning for Benedict to say so. Someone else said "truth is truth. It's not Benedict 16's fault you can't see that." I replied "Dogma is dogma. Unfortunately you can't see that." At that point "editor" locked the thread. So, definitely my fault thread got locked. Sorry about that. It was not my intention, but with all of the intolerant things which had been posted in there for several pages, I don't think it was a big loss.

That wasn't what did it. I'm not even sure it was you that got it locked, but that wasn't what caused it.

I'm not gay, and I'm not any kind of Christian, but I don't like to see belittling things said about any group, be they gay people, protestants, catholics, or anyone else, and so I'm going to say something about that. I guess here on HAIF, general comments about groups that border on defamation are tolerated, but my intolerance of intolerance is not tolerated. Try saying that three times fast.

As I noted in another thread, you haven't been participating here long enough to be all that critical of HAIF.

If you had, you would have seen by now a dozen times the notes that I and the moderators do not patrol every message in every thread. We're more haphazard than that -- like a cop running radar on 288. Some people get caught. Some don't. Don't take it personally.

[Reefmonkey]

I laugh at racist and sexist jokes. When they are funny. I don't have the ability to hold back if it' funny. If we can't laugh at our stupidity than we are missing out because there is a lot of it. There is a heritage of it. And sometimes it's funny. Why should I worry if it is going to offend someone who is not standing there next to me with the chance to be offended.

I guess it's the Buddhist in me. The first stone on the eightfold path is Right Thought. Right thought leads to right intention which leads to right speech and right action. Wrong thought leads to wrong intention to wrong speech to wrong action. Refraining from laughing at jokes that are derogatory to other people is as much about keeping your mind free of negative thoughts about other people as it is about defending people who aren't around to defend themselves.

[Reefmonkey]

That wasn't what did it. I'm not even sure it was you that got it locked, but that wasn't what caused it.

If it wasn't the "jungle gym" comment or the "dogma" comment, then I can't think of anything else I said, so I guess I'm off the hook.

As I noted in another thread, you haven't been participating here long enough to be all that critical of HAIF.

If you had, you would have seen by now a dozen times the notes that I and the moderators do not patrol every message in every thread. We're more haphazard than that -- like a cop running radar on 288. Some people get caught. Some don't. Don't take it personally.

It's not a criticism of HAIF, specifically, it is a general observation about forums such as these where the moderators participate in discussions as well. It's not just me, there is an ongoing discussion in the internet ether about the phenomenon. It doesn't necessarily mean the moderators can't be fair or aren't being fair, the practice does however make them more vulnerable to the charge of being partisan than moderators who are silent until there is a dispute.

Don't take it personally.

Trust me, I don't, and I hope you did not take my comments personally either.

[BryanS]

Sorry editor, it's gotten off-topic again. I seem to be a lightning rod for that. Let's get it back on topic:

We've all talked about the benefits that gay couples miss out on because of bans on gay marriage, and potential benefits to tax revenues if we let them get married, but, for the sake of being a Devil's Advocate, what about the flipside to this argument? Maybe in some ways gay couples get a free ride, which is unfair to heterosexual couples? Heterosexual couples are under a lot of pressure to get married, both from inside the relationship, and from family and society in general. Gay couples have no such pressure on them, and have a built-in excuse - "oh, we'd love to get married and start paying the marriage penalty in our taxes...but no one will let us get married. Yeah, that's it." How do you who are opposed to gay marriage feel about this?

I would say it's even worse for gay and lesbian people. To some extent all of us, from the moment we came into this world, are under pressure from society (mom, dad, and all the rest) to grow up, go to school, get a job, and get married. The problem with this is that (at least in the past) is that EVERYONE assumes that EVERYONE is straight. So what do you get sometimes? You have gay men, who haven't come to terms with themselves... they grow up, go to school, get a good job, marry a woman... have kids... and then 5-10 years into the situation, wake up as to who they really are, get divorced and then date men - who may also have kids! I want to say that I know of at least a half dozen gay couples/men who fall into this category! It is hard enough coming out to your parents in high school, college, or right after college... It is quite something else to come out to them after you've been married for several years, had kids, the house, the job, the car, everything. Talk about a messy, confusing situation.

That's why gay marriage needs to be an option: 1.) It will save straight women from the unnecessary heartbreak of a "mixed marriage," 2.) allow gay and straight people to marry into the correct orientation, to begin with, and 3.) For those who have kids, allow them to place a legal framework around themselves to protect their families, as they had previously.

[editor]

I also pick up litter when I'm hiking and paddling, and don't laugh along with racist or sexist jokes just to "fit in". I do them because they are the right thing to do

Wait... You laugh at racist jokes because it's the right thing to do?

[musicman]

That's why gay marriage needs to be an option: 1.) It will save straight women from the unnecessary heartbreak of a "mixed marriage," 2.) allow gay and straight people to marry into the correct orientation, to begin with, and 3.) For those who have kids, allow them to place a legal framework around themselves to protect their families, as they had previously.

someone's been watching the brady bunch again.

[Reefmonkey]

Wait... You laugh at racist jokes because it's the right thing to do?

I'll laugh at this joke just to be polite.

someone's been watching the brady bunch again.

However this one I laugh at because it's actually clever and funny.

[HtownWxBoy]

Keep it STRICTLY on topic. I'm going to be watching this one, too.

Dude, I am on your team, and I know it's close to pride, but man, what's with the rainbow. Are you one of those that puts it on your car?

BTW, I knew we had tons of expendable cash!

I vote merge. It's not my thread, but I think it should be.

LOL... no, don't have stuff on my car, was just bored at work and wanted to have some fun.

And no, this should not merged, ti's a different topic... .

The anti-gay marriage folks are alot more intelligent than we give them credit for. Just like the old segregationists of the past, they realize that once you let something like this occur, most people will realize that the world isn't gonna fall off of its axis and they will accept it.

The segregations knew that if they allowed integration of the races, it would be that much harder for them to spread false lies about "those people." I was lucky enough to be born in 1972, thus my schooling was an integrated one. Many of "those people" were my friends so when older folks would spout their prejudiced viewpoints, I knew for a fact it was B.S.

The same thing will occur with gay marriage. Once it is allowed and average folks get used to the idea and find that it leads to a stable and open society, then the stigma of being gay will go away and the anti-gay supporters will lose a key issue with which to divide people.

I speak these words as a white straight man that learned long ago that homophobia, like racism before it, is based in ignorance. I don't want to be ignorant and I feel society progresses from stupidity to intelligence over the years.

Gay marriage is going to be legal one of these days people, its just a matter of time. Those that fight against it are like trying to push the tides back in the ocean.

VERY WELL SAID... AND 100% TRUE. It's only a matter of time, just like it was only a matter of time for women being allowed to vote, for the end of segregation, for interracial marriage to be legal.... it's only a matter of time whether you like it or not. And as for the arguments against gay marriage... look at any country around the world that now allows gay marriage and you will see nothing "bad" happens. It does not ruin the sanctity of marriage, it leads to more people getting married... it doesn't turn people gay... gay people are born gay... you can't create gay people... it helps the economy... and the country doesn't blow up.