I completely understand, and I fully agree, no one should be treated differently because of who or what they are. I know I have been at the receiving end of this, sometimes in a very unpleasant way, so I can appreciate people treating everyone the same rather than something beneath them. But it's a very grey area. At what point does it become an issue of freedom of religion over principles forced on a faith by a government, something which can be seen as undemocratic?

Would the responsibility not be with the church, rather than the government? A government should have no real power to influence religion (within reason), it should lie with the rulers of that faith. For example, if Catholics feel so strongly about same sex couples getting equal treatment in the eyes of god, why not take it up with Vatican City? The Catholic church has always adapted the bible to suit it's needs, so if they were to issue a statement accepting all people no matter who or what they are (something that that faith seems to preach on about but hardly ever acts on), then surly that would negate the argument of people using religion as a shield. But as I said, it's a grey area, and one that the government must interfere in in order to get people the equal rights they deserve. I still think the church needs to take some responsibility in it all, but I do not see that going to happen. So you are completely right.

But we don't get the chance of a referendum as our constitution doesn't allow them on the federal level (still a remnant from the experiences from the Weimar Republic...). I still hope that there will be some kind of decision in the parliament. I mean three of four parties in the parliament are in favour of marriage-equality (and they have a majority) but unfortunately the biggest party (the Christian Democrats) are against it and the lead the coalition with the Social Democrats - and i don't think that the Social Democrats have the guts to risk the coalition for the decision...
I'm doing good - looking forward to my next survey this evening :)
(This time it'll be tough i assume because of the commuters....)

XO ... you rang, Ma'am?
I can't believe you were arrested :-O ... So glad the officer was so friendly! :-)

Good morning! How are you today?

Good morning, Fearful!

I hope you are doing well and have a nice day planned?

Yeah, I just want to stay all cuddled up in my nice warm bed with my nice warm partner. She always looks so sweet when she is asleep and I have to resist the urge to give her a big cuddle in the morning in case it wakes her up. So I save it for when I get home from work and make it an extra big cuddle. :-)

He probably has his head stuck in a jar of peanut butter, a bit like Winnie the Pooh and the pots of honey. :-)

I hope your knitting evening goes well, and is not ruined by any loud sports on the tv. Hopefully you will have a very nice evening with your friends.

Sorry to hear you had a run in with the police, but it's good to hear he let you off. Of course, had he of thrown you behind bard, then we would have had to come break you out. :-)

*big random hug*

I'm fairly hardline anti religion, so I'm always going to be biased, but I don't believe religion should have anything to do with the running of the state or the making of laws. Religious freedom is a ridiculous concept, you don't see Catholics arguing that Muslins should be able to practice Sharia law here. Why should one religion have freedom but not others? What defines a religion? If I say tomorrow that I believe god has declared money and barter to be evil and that I will no longer pay for things should I be allowed to just take what I want? What makes that belief any different then the religions already out there? Just the length of time they have existed?

I say let religions believe what they want, but don't let it affect the laws of the country.

Perhaps I did not word my response correctly, but I agree with you about religion not being allowed to effect the laws of the land. Sorry if I came off like I was defending that concept. I completely agree that religion should never be favoured over the will of the people and the laws a country has, and of course everyone should be treated equally.

But incidentally, the whole concept should work both ways as well. I have seen several occasions when same sex people have excluded people because of their sexuality, so it is definitely not just something bound to religion. In Blackpool, for example, a few ears ago me and my partner were turned down for a room at a hotel as the owners were a gay couple and they refused to rent out rooms to people outside of a same sex relationship (we did not tell them we were a couple as it is no ones business other than our own, and we feel no need to justify that to random people we meet). It's a very strange situation, but generally speaking people are fine with it, it's just a small minority on both sides that seem to make issues out of things.

My apologies if I came off like I was defending the church or unfair behaviour or anything like that, that was definitely not my intent at all. I would be the last person to defend that kind of behaviour.

I'm ok and you? Looking forward to having evenings again? :D

I sure am. Just a few more days to go. :-)

Good morning, Agent!

How was your day with your friend, did you have lots of fun? Do you have anything nice planned for the day?

*big morning hug*

Good Morning Agent ! *big hug*
How are you doing?

Haa you're there :-D
Your mission is to hhelp me to keep the thread alive, as DD will be quite busy today... !!
**Big I -count-on-you hug**
How are you doing ?... :)
And yes, very friendly... lucky me !!! \o/

How is your work going, are you still enjoying it?

Just work, work, work. Got to soldier on for another week. :P And tomorrow I have to go to the dentist, so all in all I suppose this is not the best of weeks. Still, by next week Wednesday I'll have handed in my thesis and things should hopefully become more quiet. :)

Yes. Definitely although it was only my second assignment yesterday :).

That sounds like a busy week for you, but it's great that by next week your thesis will be handed in and things will be a lot more quiet for you. Are you looking forward to getting your thesis done and out of the way?

I have a bit more paperwork to complete then I have about 8 hours of hard work with probably no breaks to look forward to, but at least it will pay off once the week is done.

It's good to hear that you are still enjoying it.