I think it's a miscategorization to say that gay rights are a matter of human rights. Marriage, even for heterosexuals, isn't a matter of human rights, it's a civil issue.

i feel that no matter what anyone's orientation is we all should have the same rights and equalities and to discriminate based on orientation, age, creed, race is just plain wrong

I agree that no one should ever discriminate, but marriage is a civil right. It is not in the UNDHR. It is not considered a human right for anyone. And gay marriage is the main component of gay rights.

It depends on how you look at it I guess. I wondered about human rights vs civil rights when answering this question
My conclusion was that the debate about gay marriage is mostly about equality.
And since that is an important point of the UNDHR, I answered 'Yes'.

Touche, Sappp.

Gay marriage can indeed be seen as a civil right issue.
But the rights of gays in general are definitely a problem of equality. Things like discrimination are also problems that some gay people deal with on a daily basis, and those issues are definitely part of the UNDHR.

gay rights is definetly a human right

I just changed my answer because I realized this wasn't worded right. Gay rights are about so much more than marriage. I do feel, though, that marriage is a civil right-- one that I believe gays should have, nevertheless.

Though gay MARRIAGE may be a civil issue, the fact that there are places where you could get killed just for being gay is certainly a violation of human rights. And even if marriage is a civil right, it's not the governments to take away. Furthermore, there are those who would say that life is worth very little without love.

Everyone has a right to love. How is love evil? The only thing evil about it is the hate of gay people. Homophobia is evil, not the homosexuals themselves.

As a theater geek, I am friends with many homosexuals, and trust me, THEY ARE JUST LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE, they just love differently. It's still love. JUST BECAUSE SOMETHING IS DIFFERENT FROM YOU DOENS'T MAKE IT EVIL!! That is the same mentality of racism, sexism and even terrorism.

XDRoseLuvsHP i could aggree with you more.

as a gay myself (bi sexaul) i will personally say, its not something we have a choice, its jsut the way we are, and we cant help even though we love it!! i find it the best thing my life , and i will always love it.
and jsut because of it, i still desverve and everyone no matter who they are nigro, white, relgious or non religios, male, female ANYBODY! desverves to be treated as teh human they are..

Love has no limits...

I don't exactly support gays or like the things they do, but if they want to get married or have a relationship, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, JUST LET THEM DO IT!!!! God, it's not like its hurting anyone!

I believe gays are badly wrong. I don't HATE them, but I don't agree with them. I could have a gay friend. We would agree to disagree.

But, back to the question, being gay is not natural.

^^ "But, back to the question, being gay is not natural."

The question wasn't asking whether or not it was natural, it was asking whether or not their right to be who they are without abuse was a matter of human rights.

"Gay rights" is an ambiguous term, but considering that being gay is a crime punishable by death in many countries, I'd say that's a human right - not to be executed for who you are.

What it MEANT to ask was if their marriage rights was a matter of human rights, or civil rights.

But whether or not it was natural was never in question. After all, homosexuality occurs in over 450 species, including in our closest relatives, chimps and bonobos, and in some highly intelligent species like dolphins, and species that mate for life, like penguins. It's anything but unnatural.

Well, first off Cinders, I don't even believe in evolution; I believe in intelligent design and that our amazing human body, all the crazy animals, plants, and everything could not have happened over a matter of millions and millions of years. There's just not enough time. (I know people will instantly blow me off as being "that hypocritical Christian." just stick with me for a moment.

I hate the fact that gays suffer abuse in other countries for being gay. THAT'S pretty horrible to me. One of my favorite books was written by a homosexual.

However, I believe that they are, in the end, wrong. It's a human decisison, not a matter of being "who you are." They were never born that way, despite what they might claim. Perhaps as children they were led astray, so I don't judge them at all. I just think that it's not what they should be, at all.

And, as for the fact that they are unatural, I'd also have to disagree. They cannot produce children. Weather or not they can adopt an orphan is beside the issue. In fact, I'm happy for the fact that they can and their's one less orphan in the world. I just believe, as I have stated, that if they cannot produce their own child then it is not natural.

(As for the animals, I have a cat and dog that's always humping the bed, sorry for being crude, but animals will be animals because they do not have the intelligence we have.)

I believe that my God made man and woman to be together, and our human nauture automatically wants us to stay away. I'm simply stating how I feel about this, and I know I'll probably suffer abuse for it.

But I joined this club to spread awareness about execution from other countries. Though I disagree, like I said, I could easily make a gay/lesbian friend, and if they were bullied I would indeed stick up for them. We would just have to disagree and be done with it.

On Evolution
I never mentioned evolution... But chimpanzees and humans share link. Evolution or not, that's a fact. I also believe that regardless of the theory of evolution, all species are connected, and bioanthropological studies show that we can learn a lot about human behavior from primates.

On homosexuality being natural/unnatural and reproduction
Your dog humping objects is not necessarily a sign of his sexuality, it's a sign of its dominance. Animals mount each other to establish that. However, penguins (for example) choose a mate and stay with that mate for life (monogamous like humans are). Sometimes, the mates they choose are the same sex of them. There's even a story of these mates adopting abandoned chicks.

Whether or not a couple can reproduce doesn't make their relationship unnatural. There are men and women who are infertile, and yet they have husbands and wives. Is the fact that they can't reproduce make their union unnatural? I don't judge the worth of a person's relationship based on their reproductive capability. I don't really judge other people's experiences or feelings. If they tell me they're in love, I believe them.

On "choice"
Similarly, I have never met a single straight person who has been "tempted" by homosexuality, or the concept of it. Most of them find it unappealing. If you could never choose to be gay, how could someone else? Moreover, if you never chose to be straight, how can you argue that sexuality is a choice in the first place? Lastly - "They were never born that way, despite what they might claim." - How do you know this? Where are your facts? A gut feeling? Like I said, you don't know because you've probably never struggled with your sexuality. You've probably never tried your whole life so very hard to fit in, to be straight, to date the opposite sex and find it unsatisfying, unfullfilling, even appalling. You've never hurt so bad because everyone else is telling you that how you're feeling is wrong, but you've tried to change those feelings and just can't. When you have, then you can tell me how much of a "choice" sexuality is. If we could "choose" who we fall in love with, half of the greatest love stories of our time wouldn't exist. Because when loving someone became too inconvenient, we would just turn it off and stop loving them. If only it were that simple.

On personal beliefs
If you want to believe that being gay is wrong, that's your right. Honestly, I've never seen anything morally reprehensible about it, but that's based on my personal morals, which has at its heart a respect for and love of the human race and people's freedom to be who they are. It's not based on a specific black-and-white code, nor on any one specific religion, although I am influenced by many religions and spiritual philosophies. However, I stand up for everyone's right to believe what they want and how they want, so you have every right to believe what you do. All I am arguing here are things that I believe are logical conclusions, namely the "nature" and "choice" of sexuality. I will not argue about whether or not it is right or wrong, because I cannot quote facts or logical thinking, only beliefs to support that claim, and I don't want to get into that here. In summation - you have every right to believe homosexuality is wrong, so long as you respect their right to disagree, and follow their own beliefs and moral codes.

On playing the martyr
If anyone attacks you for your beliefs, I will be the first to stand up for you. There's no reason to assume that you'll "suffer abuse for it." In fact, gays have suffered far more abuse world-wide in the modern age than your average American Christian. I'm not saying there isn't prejudice against Christians - there is - but it's not as prevalent, nor, frankly, as violent or hateful as the prejudice I've seen against the LGBTQ.

If you believe, like you claim, that gays deserve the right not to be oppressed or abused just because of their sexuality, then I believe that you do support their rights. If you don't want to support their civil rights (marriage, joint adoption, etc) then that's another issue. But as far as human rights goes? As far as their right to be respected and treated like, well, human beings? I think we can all agree on that point.

How is being gay Unatrual?
I am straight but i believe that you should be able to love anyone(except..old guys liking children now that's wrong i agree with that)

How would you like it, if the world was the opposite? if Hetrosexuality was frowned upon? how would you feel?

I admit I was a little unsure when voting, because I wasn't sure whether it should be categorized as a human right or a civil right, but actually I think I agree with those who have said that gay rights = human right and marriage = civil right. That makes sense.