Do you believe that Gay Couples should have the same rights as any other citizens?

[Dave B.]

I'll say yes for the short answer. Read on.

Couples should not have ANY rights that differ from those which a single person has. The government should not have a vested interest in my romantic life, and there certainly shouldn't be any tax advantages or other perks that come with a change in relationship status. The government should not "recognize" marriages. When did a judge and lawyers become a necessary part of a relationship?

I happen to think that marriage is an outdated notion in any context. Back when a man worked and a woman was basically property, it served the simple purpose of ensuring that the woman wouldn't be kicked out into the cold and starve to death...usually. These days with everything being fairly equal between the genders, it is a completely unnecessary an anachronistic decoration. Getting married in this day and age should be of no more consequence than changing your Facebook relationship status.

While society catches up, same-sex couples should absolutely enjoy the same rights as anybody else. It's embarrasing to think that the American civil rights movement is 50 years behind us, but we still can't treat every person equally. We have had many opportunities to learn this lesson throughout history, and we are still somehow incapable of making the leap to equal treatment in a single bound. I guess this issue, as with all issues of equality, will once again require dragging a certain class of person down the path of social progress kicking and screaming.