Interview with Federal Prop 8 Case Attorneys David Boies and Ted Olson - TOWLEROAD.COM

[rjholling]

Ted Olson's passion and knowledge gives me a raging hard-on.

[borebox]

Straights are fearful and this is bringing all the hate to the top. This is yet one more change that society must absorb. There will be places that are slower to change and may never change for a few generations.

[johnmingolla]

I am Canadian. Gay marriage is legal here and we have moved on. It's a no brainer a win-win situation. We are in the 21st century where people come first. Religion must now be kept in the private realm and MUST NOT be used as a weapon to bash other groups. If we don't understand this today I'm afraid we are ALL doomed.

[RobbyJ88]

My one concern is that the government will not tell the churches that they are obligated to marry gays. I think that will be a sad day when we no longer have freedom of religion.

[kenballer00]

if you object as Masschusetts parents have found out or try to protect your child from being taught these views about marriage your going to be treated like a bigot who opposes interracial marriage.

if the government treats you like a racist because you believe in traditional marriage your going to find out that this new law impinges on your freedoms and your capacity to live your life with freedom of conscience and to transmit your values to your own children

continuing...

[bgdtrooper]

Excellent interview! The U.S. and it's citizens deserve to be free with equal rights to everyone. Just keep doing what you do!

[elnegroid]

guess the interviewer had to borrow his little brothers shirt.

[RobbyJ88]

I am a registered Conservative, Christian and a former youth Pastor. I hope that this does not go through and that gays are allowed to marry in the United States. It is only fair and right. regardless of weather it is called marriage or not is not an issue, however, it is important to allow gays to marry, and allow equality. This would be a terrible nation if blacks were still treated as a lesser class! Thank God for change !

[kenballer00]

your analogy to homosexuality and race is misguided. being gay may or may not be a choice but living the gay lifestyle is a choice and that's why we are here. the government doesn't ask you whether you are gay or straight. sexual orientation has nothing to do with the issue.you can't compare an immutable characteristic (race gender etc) to somebody's behavior. A lifestyle is not a minority. Jews, blacks, and women were discriminated against for who they were not for who they were having sex with

[vanhattan]

Just like your choice to be straight I suppose. If it is so easy to choose your sexual orientation, then why haven't you at least tried to be Gay? I suppose it is because of your immutable straight characteristic and not because you choose to be straight.

[Ian7570]

@vanhattan lol...i love it.

[TeamAnDmoto]

@vanhattan Hey faggot, ok if you asked that question, then I could say, why havnt you tried cocain or meth, is it built in you? Or do you just know it is dangerous and could kill you? Dont be a bitch

[steerpike66]

Beintg gay is not a choice ( I was gay when I was eight, my father said that he knew pretty much at that point and you cans ee it in family films of the period). It's conected to birth order, pre-natal conditions and exibits itself through finger ratio and phereomone response.

It may not be wholly genetic but it IS biological. It is WHO YOU ARE.

Why do you think gays are so good at talking to women and embrace the arts?

[kenballer00]

in no way do we in society accept behaviors as one in the same with the individual's desire to live out that behavior. According to your logic, we should and are suppose to accept pedophilia, polygamy (bisexuals), adulterers, alcoholics, and kleptomaniacs. there is no proof of a gay gene and there are many situations where gays have abandoned the lifestyle and found a straight one through divine conviction and reparable therapy.

[Kaileo1]

another false argument. pedophilia, polygamy, etc. are illegal. being gay is not illegal. therefore, your comparison does not make any sense.

a "gay gene" isn't neccessary. your sexuality is innate, and so is everyone elses, gay or hetero or otherwise.

many "gays" who have abandoned the lifestyle? wrong. in fact, the evidence shows that "reparitive" therapy does no good... we're still gay. having been a victim of this kind of therapy, I can speak with conviction that it doesn't work.

[RobbyJ88]

@kenballer00 I personally think that people choose to be gay based on past lives. yes I am a Christian and I do believe in reincarnation. I think that your body (genes) may have a slight influence, but when it comes down to who we are, I believe we are Spiritual Beings having a human experience, so there is something much deeper than we may realize

[kenballer00]

this is not about what two people do in private. i believe people have a right to live however they choose but redefining marriage is about what the government is going to teach in public. its about what the law is going to insist all of us to do which is to view same sex unions as marriage. they are going to use taxpayer money to teach your children and grandchildren that two men in a union is just as much as marriage as a husband and wife whether you like it or not

continuing..

[RobbyJ88]

@kenballer00 As far as I am concerned, it is up to the parents to teach their children what they believe, not the government.

[steerpike66]

Ans do you get a hard-on wevery time you see an attractive man? Do you choose to suppress that erection? or maybe you don't feel a thing, just like I've never felt a thing around women, even the ones that I know are gorgeous and would sleep with me in a second (I am FAR from unattractive to women).

[kenballer00]

so unlike women, blacks, and the handicap who cannot completely change their skin or physical attribute along with it being primarily based on OUTWARD appearance , gays have freewill and can change their lifestyle.

as the saying goes, "DON'T EQUATE MY SKIN WITH YOUR SIN"

[MaxVoltageSF]

@kenballer00 The issue is not Gay Marriage, so much as it is Gender Neutral Marriage. For example, I am intersex. It is a PURELY physical matter, down to my cells. Intersex folks are far more common than you might think. Intersex folks comprise between 1% - 4% of the population (depending on which studies & definitions one prefers).

I have no simple same or opposite gender.

Also, religious zealots have freewill and can change their lifestyle.

More harm done by zealots than gays.

[Kaileo1]

kenballer, apparently you don't read much science. sexual/romantic orientation is innate and not subject to freewill. you're back in the 1960's.

[RobbyJ88]

@kenballer00 I disagree. Discrimination is Discrimination, regardless of what it is in reference to. your comment shows that you approve of distasteful remarks against people who choose something other than yourself would. Discrimination stems from the perspective, "I am better than you because...." or "I deserve (insert desired thing here) over you because...." Be real. Please.

[kenballer00]

oh please yourself,

if discrimination is discrimination, then the adult ban on incest or the legal age limit is also no different . why don't you be real . what your actually trying to do is create an exception or doulble standard with same sex couples by pretending discrimination has no boundary.

[RobbyJ88]

@kenballer00 @kenballer00 I do please myself. But that's not the topic of discussion here.

Good point, but then you are getting into a morality and legal issue. So the question is, where do you place your values at? And is it right to impose your values on other people that do not share the same value system as yours? Am I and others allowed to fight for what we want in the US?

[RobbyJ88]

To be honest, Discrimination has no boundary. Never has. Laws and morality have boundaries. So it is up to you where they are placed. So where do we stop? When is it too much? That I cannot answer. All I can do is encourage people to accept me for who I am and fight for what I believe should be right.

[kenballer00]

nobody's forcing gays to deny their attractions. Nobody's criminalizing homosexuals acts or raiding gay marriages in churches. gays can freely express their feelings of love in a church and get all the benefits that come with marriage through civil unions. however, as soon as you step outside the private realm of RELIGIOUS marriage and enter into the public sphere of CIVIL marriage, you are subject to the law and public opinion or vote because civil marriage is about public policy.

[kenballer00]

it would essentially be an endless clash between the same-sex agenda and freedom of religion.The two are not compatible, because the same-sex agenda seeks to force by law acceptance of its view, and that will inevitably collide with Christian values. Christians will either be forced to accept something like this or live in fear of a secular government that will pander to the likes of intolerant gay activists

[jannikmt]

@kenballer00 emmm.... so becuse the christians say so enyone who dose not agree with them should be lower class becuse if hey had the same rights or the churxch feals threatened? and must kill my mother in a family gathering for wearing cloth made of 2 difrent cloths???

[Tonz1231]

@kenballer00 - Don't you realize that your opinions don't matter to the LGBT community? Can't you hate-filled scumbags take the hint? Your arguments are baseless and are grounded in prejudice, ignorance, and above all else hatred.

If a gay or lesbian couple wants to get married then they should have the ability to without anti-gay freaks using the law to stop them.

Anyone who doesnt support same-sex marriage or marriage equality is either a bigot, an idiot, or a coward.

[kenballer00]

OH PLEASE, nobody's forcing gays to deny their attractions. Nobody's criminalizing homosexuals acts or raiding gay marriages in churches. gays can freely express their feelings of love in a church and get all the benefits that come with marriage through civil unions. however, as soon as you step outside the private realm of RELIGIOUS marriage and enter into the public sphere of CIVIL marriage, you are subject to the law and public opinion or vote because civil marriage is about public policy

[kd1s]

I've read the transcripts. The dynamic duo (And I use that term with the greatest of respect for Olson and Boies) have created an unimpeachable case. Here's to hoping for victory.

[steerpike66]

How would you imagine that one of Reagan's right-hand lawyers would throw himself so heartily into the gay rigts cause.

[kd1s]

I believe Olson is a true conservative, not a neo-conservative. There is a very big difference between the two.