I have two gay friends voting no

Celly Smunt wrote: »

As the title says i suppose is the crux of it.

We were out having a few drinks on friday, and as always the referendum came up in topic. Months ago i was a little taken aback that a few of my gay friends were undecided as i thought it would have been a dead set yes from them. Anyway as the topic drew on i was down right puzzled at the start as to why they would vote no and from what i can gather the following reasons were put forward.

The first was the gay community identity. He argued that freedom within the community of being forever single though free to love whoever he wanted was what he felt gay marraige threatened. He didnt like the idea of two gay people tying themselves down. I looked at this from a straight perspective and thought of all the men and women who were in the same boat with careers or general promiscuity, whatever floats your boat type of thing.

The next reason was that he didnt need a wedding ring and a certificate from the state to express his love for another person. Again i suppose this is understanable, but again from a straight perspective that mindset exists also.

He argued that if the marraige referendum was to fail and that as a reaction the civil partnership bill should enstate more beneficial entitlements in terms of tax cuts and next of kin etc.

I have probably forgotten other reasons he gave though it just leave me a little bit deflated i suppose that i'm going out there to vote for rights that they both are voting against. As a person who has a lot of gay friends though is a bit community shy im just wondering whether anybody here has come accross this sort of leaning among the gay community?

My intentions are to still vote yes obviously, and allow them to have the choice if they want it or not, though I dont know how to feel about this attitude from a person the bill will directly affect.