Posted On: October 27, 2006, 3:56 pm CDT

Posted By: KLS

I don't understand why allowing gay marriage will lead to allowing marriage between siblings and different species.

When women were finally given the right to vote, were people genuinely worried that eventually apes and infants would also have the right to vote?

As for adopting children... many kids desperately need good homes. I personally know an infertile straight couple who adopted two children and unfortunately for the kids, these people probably should not have been permitted to adopt. Both boys are now grown and have attested to as much on more than one occasion.

Sexual orientation probably has no bearing whatsoever on one's ability to raise a child. I think it largely depends on other things, such as a person's intelligence, temperament and whether they have the ability to learn and practice parenting skills.

Putting aside the issue of morality (which, like personal responsibility, can't effectively be governed) what negative influence would a gay couple have on an adopted child that is worse than any negative influence a straight couple might have?

While I'm trying to see this issue from other perspectives, I'm struggling to understand. Perhaps my brand of common sense isn't so common.

As far as how the union would be defined in the eyes of the insurer, what defines common-law marriage in New Jersey? (Does NJ even recognize common-law marriage?) Possibly those statutes could be used as a model to establish the definition of a "committed same-sex couple"?