Folks like it or not, the time for equality for all is here and we must extend benefits and rights to all—not just the majority. This is not an issue of homosexual or heterosexual rights—its an issue of human rights and the belief that we are all equal. We must remember, women, people of color, various faiths and nationalities, etc., have been persecuted through time and we have cleared those obstacles, now we must clear one more.

As a gay man growing up in the south suburbs I saw the challenges and I see a brighter day ahead, please don't deny your fellow persons that right based upon bigotry, misunderstanding, or whatever other shield you want to hide behind. As a gay man, I laugh when I hear the terms "alternative lifestyle" "lifestyle of choice" or "they chose that life", no, your priest chose an alternative lifestyle—a lifestyle that is not normal by denying his sexual urges; your child chose an alternative lifestyle when they decided to listen to a particular type of music, dye their hair and hang out with a group of others that are not the majority—human sexuality is not a choice, it is a right of expression, love, and procreation given to us by God, Allah, or whoever/whatever put us on this big rock that is floating in space.

Think about your child, think about your neighbor, think about yourself; would you want to be denied rights on something you cannot change? Urge this to pass in the name of love and decency.

As a non-gay man growing up, I didn't even know gay people couldn't marry...now I just don't understand why they "can't". Where does anything anywhere in our Constitution say there is a legal definition one way or another? Drawing a line between civil union and marriage is just stupid...so what, overly religious people can force THEIR religious beliefs on others? Great, awesome...funny how some people will rail on about the government taking away liberties...until it is a liberty THEY disagree with somebody ELSE having that they don't like.

The Bible is my constitution. And I am against gay marriage. Im so sick of the left shoving their views and their demands down my conservative throat I do not care if your gay but stay in the closet. it is just not natural or normal. If my daughter was gay I would love her but I would not have to accept her lifestyle. What is happening to our Nation? I believe Homosexuality is a an addiction just like other addictions that plague peolple. Alcoholics and addicts are not screaming for extras and special rights., What if gays just started getting married like crazy? What would happen to our population? There will not be as many children born." Invetro" sure but come on that just shows it is not natural for gays to be married or having children . Sin is sin and I am a sinner but I just think it very inapropriate to leagalize same sex marriage. It's just not healthy for out society!! Any Clergy that marries these folks ought to be fired and if I was a justice of the peace I would not be able to prefrom the cerimonies due to my faith.. I guess I would be fired. This issue just opens the doors for lots of future troubles. And this Nation will have to answer for these issues. Mom

Short answer to the question: yes. However, of the two hours of dialogue available from the event, how does the question of gay marriage get singled out by the Patch? Are the readers to assume the editors of the Patch feel gay marriage is the most pressing issue facing the residents of the State of Illinois or just the one they want elevated on the agenda? Come on guys, you are above the liberal media ‘agendizing’ of the social issues when the country and the State of Illinois are in such a big financial ditch we (and our children) may never be able to climb out of it.

You make a good point. Illinois residents are likely more concerned with economic and educational issues, and rightfully so given the state of things. It's not an attempt to agendize. We're simply trying a few different formats and topics. But again, you do make a good point and I appreciate it. Dan and I both have more video from the two forums we'll be putting up, and look for more updates on each site's election central page as we get closer to the 20th.

The issue is not marriage, it is the redefining marriage to suit a gay agenda. Nobody is prohibiting gays from cohabiting and acting like a married couple. Wills and other contracts do not exclude gays. Marriage between straights is not motivated by a financial benefit of government. The only reason that gays want to marry is to force themselves into the taxpayer's pocket.

This whole issue is about two things; having government forcing acceptance of what some believe is perverse behavior on the public, and making them subsidize the behavior, and giving financial benefit at taxpayer expense to new "entitlement" class.

Since the old "sodomy" rules were ended, any committed human couple over 18 could engage in both a emotional and sexual relationship. Government stopped interfering in such relationships, which as someone who believes individual freedom and liberty I applaud.

The usual "entitlement" mentality is now taking over, as it always does with an intrusive government.

Perhaps the greatest disincentive to unwed parenthood was social stigma. that stigma was removed back in the 1960's and 1970's. Unwed parenthood skyrocketed in that period, and is the primary cause of long term poverty in the US.

Then the government decided to put gasoline on the fire. They started, through the "Great Society" programs, to make unwed motherhood a viable, fully supported lifestyle. Yoou received checks without working, "free" healthcare and a host of other incentives to lead this lifestyle. It became part of a dysfunctional culture that led to drug, crime, and despair.

After that the formation of the nuclear family through legal, committed relationships was attacked. Job benefits were given to "significant others" when a man and a women weren't committed enough to be legally married.

We're now travelling the same entitlement path with "gay marriage". The stigma has pretty much been removed, and now we're subsidizing the behavior.

Once gay marriage is "legal" the next thing will be promoting it to children in our schools. Once it's a "legitimate and legal" lifestyle, it's safe to say that such indoctrination will be DEMANDED by the gay community. It's their non-biological form population growth. More gays, more political power.

Sorry, but I believe that gays have a right to do what they wish in their own homes. Expect me subsidize and promote it in our schools, however, and I'll fight it to th best of my humble ability!

I hope your ability is indeed humble.
Maybe you long for the good old days when it was illegal for people of different races to marry one another.
History is not on your side and you may as well get used to it.
I defy anyone to show me any way in which he has been (or will be) impacted if gays are allowed to marry. You can look at the seven states which already permit gay marriage. I have not heard that they have gone to hell yet.

It's pretty clear that we're getting close to that "collapse" economically and morally, and there WILL be people who believe in something greater than ourselves that rebuild civilization

I don't believe gay marriage is the most pressing issue for most voters at this time.The economy is the number one issue and the end to chronie capitalism.

My gay son is not a sexual pervert, and there is nothing amoral or unnatural about him. He is a beautiful human being, brilliant and funny and kind and humble. I not only support his "gay-ness" but I celebrate it, because it's who he is. Of course gay folks should be able to marry. They deserve the same chance at happiness as heterosexual couples.

I have more conservative views than not. But being conservative doesn't mean I have to be narrow minded. Comparing same sex partners to having sex with animals is ludacris! Compare humans to humans.
Where can I find credible information to support the vantage that "gays" are taking resources ($) from the government to "promote gay lifestyles?" Do heterosexuals take govt. resources ($) to take care of their loved ones and families? THE BIG QUESTION IS ~Are the people, who marry someone from the same sex-- working, paying taxes, volunteering in our community, supporting their families, sending their children to school? If the answer is "yes," then they have a right to "take government resources" (as much as I, or my husband,) and use these resources to provide for our loved ones. I would have a problem; IF there is a special tax exemption, or preferential treatment, or pardon given to people from supporting themselves (their families) ~JUST BECAUSE they are married to someone from the same sex.

The fact is that commercial law allows for gay couples to do everything they CLAIM they want for their partners. They can make them beneficiaries for their life insurance, stocks, bonds, and cash accounts and 401Ks without gay marriage, and wills can allow for transfer of estates.

Durable powers of attorney can be written so that the "significant other" can be empowered to the "pull the plug" decision should the time come.

The only difference with gay marriage would be additional eligibility for government entitlements that we can't afford to pay, and creating a legal basis for promoting gay relationships to our children in our schools.

I don't begrudge gays their choices, but when they seek to damage the rest of us economically and have us subsidize a lifestyle and school propaganda of which I don't approve, I have to oppose it.

Bob, I'm sorry to ask you to clarify, but your comment, "now some want to take it to homosexual couples, so why not extend them to other 'close friends' who DON'T have a sexual relationship." This seems to support the reason to HAVE same sex marriages. If it is a marriage, then the law and benefits are simply extended to "married couples."
Durable powers of attorney have been challenged, over-ridden or just plain out, ignored. In many states, hospitals have last say on whether to honor a durable power of attorney. The reality is that unless you are a legal relative, hospitals can choose not to grant you access. You still have not presented any evidence of how "they seek to damage the rest of us economically and have us subsidize [their] lifestyle." Again, if these people are working and paying taxes, they are subsidizing their own lifestyle, just as you and I are. I wish you could explain how "gay marriage" is relevant to "promoting gay relationships to our children in our schools," so that maybe I can try to understand where you are coming from. When was the last time you looked through the curriculum of our schools? Where or what subject would promote any type of relationship over, or in addition to another? I have been in the schools. I think a big challenge for our schools right now is to promote trust and respect between students and in relationships. The insincere "I don't begrudge gays their choices," is ironic. "Gays" choose to be legally equal to other human beings.

Bob, Bob, Bob...we see you use you take the dishonest and misleading tack of saying you believe 'gays can do what they want', then go on to call what they would do bizarre sexual relationships. Not judgemental at all...
You say that unwed motherhood led to drug-use, crime, and despair; REALLY? Those didn't exist BEFORE...when? A couple of years ago? How about thousands, about as long as civilization has existed?
You say ""The usual "entitlement" mentality is now taking over, as it always does with an intrusive government."" Right AFTER saying "Since the old "sodomy" rules were ended, any committed human couple over 18 could engage in both a emotional and sexual relationship. Government stopped interfering in such relationships, which as someone who believes individual freedom and liberty I applaud." It is exactly the government's intrusion that restricts gay people from enjoying the same liberties you claim you 'applaud'.
You hyperbolically equate bestiality with homosexuality...nice!

Most of the things you complain about are actually dealing with private industry, such as insurance, or hospital rights...as Kathie asks, please demonstrate how or where a gay person being married is costing us anything extra. Especially since you ALSO say how gay people ALREADY have so many of the same rights as straight married people...this, Bob, is known as a contradiction in terms.
The whole thing is that you start with a faulty premise...that gays (which are in place of women or blacks or Jews, or Irish or pick your previous minority group white guys in power didn't like) are somehow NOT entitled to everything any other human is. What an absolute abhorrent, unfunny joke.

Bob, you are THE gift that keeps on giving...

For gosh sakes, I LOVE to read. Bob, please add some links to your information so we can all enjoy and become enlightened.

Bob, to your challenge: It DOES happen. And your "purporting" that any hospital would be taken to court for denying "gays their rights" is correct. BUT, that doesn't make up for being denied first. Or spending precious hours fighting to be granted rights, especially if the loved one dies. 1) From the New York Times, ".. nearly 75 percent of the hospitals have policies to protect their patients from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. However, sometimes the policies aren’t correctly implemented by hospital workers." (cited incidences CA, OR, FLA). 2)Tennessee lesbian denied rights at hospital, (http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/tennessee-lesbian-denied-hospital-visitation-rights/discrimination/2011/12/20/32183). 3)Maryland hospital denied gay to visit her same-sex partner (http://healthexecnews.com/why-did-hospital-deny-gay-spouse-visitation-rights) 4)Lesbian denied rights (http://www.care2.com/causes/hospital-apologizes-to-lesbian-denied-visitation-rights.html) The list goes on!
And are you purporting that an East coast school legally held students in school against their & their parents' will to study material that the parents deemed unfit for their child? Classes can be mandated by state law, BUT don't give me "shrinking parents thing!" I will bet, the school offered alternative material to those, whose parents did not want their children exposed to that information.
And just so you know, learning about "gay" lifestyles doesn't make someone gay.

Kathie, how DARE you cite your sources! How will Bob repudiate them with mere knee-jerk homophobic reactionary spewings?

At the end of the day, he will insist that gay people aren't the equal of hetero people. Even if Bob isn't a racist, (I have no idea, so I won't disparage him for that), he must realize that there is a direct parellel to his thinking on this topic and how racists think now and certainly in the past about mixed marriages; or how people in further back, less enlightened time periods (or modern day Texas) fought against that 'radical theory' known as evolution. Just because some people, even a majority, think something is true, or is 'right' doesn't ACTUALLY make it so. That is why the courts have had to often enforce how the Constitution is supposed to work. It doesn't read "All men are created equal, except for the people Bob doesn't like." EVERYBODY is due the same rights, ALL the rights, ALL the time.
Do I feel like watching every program with a 'gay' angle, or some obvious agenda? Nope. I just don't watch. Do I think kids in school should learn that whatever they 'are' isn't what everybody 'is', even if it makes them or their parents uneasy? Yep, because nobody picks the 'I want to be gay' life tile when they are in some mythical line waiting to be 'sent' to be born. It just happens. The sooner we all learn to deal with each other with some understanding and compassion, the better off we will all be.