Republican candidate calls opponent homosexual

[azbadpuppy]

Well, if you really want the pain and suffering that comes with marriage, be my guest 

In this day and age, there's no better chance of a gay person being fired or evicted for being gay than there is for someone being black, white, female, or Hispanic to get fired for their gender, color, or ethnic background.  It's not to say that may not be an individual underlying bigoted issue for someone to get fired or evicted, but it would never pass muster in a court of law.  With a few exceptions of trying to work somewhere like Rhema, ORU, or a fundie church (why would you want to if you were gay?) I really don't see the restrictions anywhere for a gay person.  Why make it an issue at work in the first place?  I've never made my heterosexuality an issue at any job I've ever had.

There are cases of gay adoption I've heard of, yes it might be slightly more problematic, but gays are not restricted from it as couples or individuals, that I am aware of. 

There's no penalty on property rights so long as two individuals wish to jointly buy a property and have the proper down payment and credit.  I know a lesbian couple quite well who legally jointly own a very nice house in south Tulsa.  There's nothing in the laws to keep that from happening today. 

If I were married and my spouse had crappy credit, guess what? I'd have to be the sole owner of the house and sole signee on the mortgage. 

You may be correct that there is not specific language on the books in Oklahoma specifically protecting jobs based on sexual orientation, but I am not aware of any laws specifically stating you can be fired or evicted for being gay.

Depending on the tax bracket, it's more costly tax-wise to be married.  Obama's tax proposed tax increases don't help either. I can see the benefit to pension rights Social Security survivor benefits and things along those lines.  If it's an inheritance issue, all one needs is a holographic will.

Sorry to jump in so late, but I've been on the road. Even though this topic has been covered numerous times here before, I felt I needed to respond to some of the inaccuracies in the last post.

In this day and age, you are FAR more likely to be evicted or fired for being gay since sexual orientation is not covered in anti-discrimination laws in most states currently. Being black, white, Baptist, female, etc IS covered, but being gay is NOT, therefore if a boss or landlord doesn't like the gays he can fire/evict them for simply being gay, and there are no laws to protect them. I'm still not sure why this is so hard for many people to understand. Maybe it's because most straight white people take their rights for granted? And for the record, it's rarely the gay person in the workplace that makes their sexuality an issue, but rather the disapproving straight homophobes that like to create all the drama.

As far as gay adoption, there are laws on the books in 6 states making adoption by gays or gay couples illegal, Oklahoma being one of those 6 states. Most state have very vague laws covering this issue, and since most adoptions are handled by local courts, its really up to those judges/clerks in their own jurisdictions. They could approve or deny based on their own prejudices/religious beliefs/etc.

We are not talking about 'special rights', or 'gay rights' here. It's all about equal protection under the law. If you are a white Baptist man you are specifically protected under the current laws. What I find most curious is that religion, although completely protected under anti-discrimination laws, is a chosen trait. Homosexuality is NOT a chosen trait, as I personally can attest to. If you are not gay you have no grounds to dispute this since it would really be only speculation for you, wouldn't it?

I don't expect everyone to agree with me, or understand, but frankly I don't really care. I don't care if you accept me or condemn me. Believe what you want to believe. I just want the same rights as everyone else in this country. Anything less is unconstitutional. Period.

[Conan71]

Well, with marriage comes a whole slew of different rights like hospital visits, inheritance rights, tax breaks, etc.

Saint Francis seems to be on the ball: My surgery discharge checklist had a signature line at the bottom which says "family member/significant other signature".