Advocates for and against the legalization of gay marriage have sounded off, letting opinions fly in reaction to this week’s poll question of whether gay marriage should be legalized.
Over the past week, the question garnered 171 votes — with the majority (68 percent) going into the “yes” column in support of gay marriage.
The Register’s website recorded 77 votes on the poll, five votes were called in/emailed and 89 people voted via comments on Facebook.
Interestingly, 41 of the 51 total “no” votes came from The Register’s website, while only 10 nays came from Facebook votes. The majority of the “yes” votes were posted via Facebook. All five of the called-in/emailed votes were “no.”
The voting spectrum may be indicative of age groups’ use of the different voting platforms. Younger voters, who generally are more supportive of gay marriage, may have chosen Facebook. While older voters, generally more conservative in their approach of gay marriage, may have casted their votes on more traditional platforms.
The Facebook page, however, was the place to let opinions fly. Nearly 150 comments were posted in total, with people voicing their opinions both for and against the topic.
Those in support of gay marriage cited constitutional rights, fairness and equality in their arguments. One user wrote:
“Someone willing to fight the way they have probably isn’t getting married for the wrong reasons! I’d rather see a world full of homosexual marriages full of love and passion and fight, than kids these days having not a clue what some of us hold very serious in our values — which is the vows we take.”
Those in opposition of gay marriage cited religious beliefs and long-held traditions. Some users described an unbalanced definition of “rights” used by those on the opposing side:
“Where in The Constitution does it state that everyone has the same rights? A 16-year-old does not have the same rights as an 18- or 21-year-old, but no one is up in arms about them not having the equal right to smoke and drink. The reason for that is laws put in place based on constitutional challenges.”
While votes gathered and opinions spoken in this week’s poll question only represent a small percentage of Allen County’s population, people offered an interesting glimpse into both sides of a hotly contested issue.
Gay marriage draws big response
