"traditional marriage"

This morning while trolling through Facebook, I saw that two friends from high school had become 'fans' of a group called "Traditonal Marriage." I checked out the group page and saw lots of ranting and anger. Gays and lesbians had joined the group to "YELL" in all caps at the other members, who then "YELLED" back about Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve.

I wrote my friends the following note:

"Friend 1 and Friend 2- I saw on FB that you both joined a Traditional Marriage site. I was wondering why. Does a state government legalizing marriage for same sex couples change the meaning of heterosexual marriages for you? I know that when my father and his (male) partner had a civil union, it allowed them to share property and make medical decisions for each other. And now that my dad is in his 70's, I'm glad his partner has some legal protections and support to care for my dad. I see state's legalizing gay marriage as a way to provide equal protection for loving relationships like my dad's.

"Where I live in MA and where same sex marriage is legal, I don't have many friends who oppose it. But I know that I have friends from high school and other parts of the country who don't support it. I would love to know what you both think about it.

"Jno"

Both wrote back before the day was over, telling me they hadn't meant to offend, that they had clicked 'fan' before checking out the page, that they had quit the group, and that they hadn't meant to offend.

I guess that is good. I guess it's good that they rescinded their support for that page. But I wasn't looking for an apology. I wanted to know what they thought, if they really believed government sanctioned gay marriages were bad. Instead I got an apology. Somehow, it seems like a missed opportunity, though I am glad I asked them about it.

Happy Sunday people.