US Supreme Court Upholds Gay Marriage Legality!

[Locke]

What an awesome week for America with the confederate flag being taken down and the Supreme Court legalizing same sex marriage.

Glad to see progression in this country.

I'm with you on the Gay marriage but the confederate flag thing irks me because it's erasing American history.

In Germany you can be seriously fined and thrown in jail for having a piece of clothing with the Swastika symbol, I don't see why that can't be applicable to the US with the confederate flag.

10-15,000 people in the South used to wave that flag around after publicly lynching black people. The flag has a deeper context and history than just the civil war. That flag was one of the last things people who were lynched had to see before being killed. That's why it doesn't have a place in today's society.

The only thing that gets me is that here in the USA, you -can- legally wave around the Swastika and buy all that shit online easier now than you can a Confederate Flag. You can't have one and allow the other IMHO.

[Circled Square]

Because it's terrible, that's why. it's essentially saying, you've got free speech, as long as you say what we want you to say. Also, the fact it's illegal to deny the holocaust in certain countries blows my mind. How many historical events can you not question legally? How many people have died seeing the American flag? Should we ban that? It's a part of our history. Next you're going to tell me they're going to take down the Jefferson monument because he was a slave ow- oh wait.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/ar ... story.html

[PorkChop]

Also, the fact it's illegal to deny the holocaust in certain countries blows my mind. How many historical events can you not question legally?

[Circled Square]

Also, the fact it's illegal to deny the holocaust in certain countries blows my mind. How many historical events can you not question legally?

What? I'm not a holocaust denier by any means, it's just weird. Don't be so snobby.

[Hanley!]

The only thing that gets me is that here in the USA, you -can- legally wave around the Swastika and buy all that shit online easier now than you can a Confederate Flag. You can't have one and allow the other IMHO.

The Nazi party wasn't a huge part of American history though. The swastika is banned in Germany for the same reasons that the Confederate flag should be banned in America. Because many Germans understandably would have a negative reaction to it, due to the history of the symbol in their country.

[War Daddy]

The only thing that gets me is that here in the USA, you -can- legally wave around the Swastika and buy all that shit online easier now than you can a Confederate Flag. You can't have one and allow the other IMHO.

The Nazi party wasn't a huge part of American history though. The swastika is banned in Germany for the same reasons that the Confederate flag should be banned in America. Because many Germans understandably would have a negative reaction to it, due to the history of the symbol in their country.

Germans dont even fly their national flag either. Nationalism is taboo there. You'll see it during the world cup, which is about it.

[Locke]

The only thing that gets me is that here in the USA, you -can- legally wave around the Swastika and buy all that shit online easier now than you can a Confederate Flag. You can't have one and allow the other IMHO.

The Nazi party wasn't a huge part of American history though. The swastika is banned in Germany for the same reasons that the Confederate flag should be banned in America. Because many Germans understandably would have a negative reaction to it, due to the history of the symbol in their country.

I ain't about no slavery but I sure as fuck think Hitler affected the entire world a bit more than our country did with slavery. My ancestors were slaves as well, your ancestors were slaves, everyone's ancestors were slaves. Slavery is a sick abomination but Hitler torching innocent people, men women and children, takes the cake for me. I think they all ought to be banned if one gets banned.

[Westcoastvibes]

The only thing that gets me is that here in the USA, you -can- legally wave around the Swastika and buy all that shit online easier now than you can a Confederate Flag. You can't have one and allow the other IMHO.

The Nazi party wasn't a huge part of American history though. The swastika is banned in Germany for the same reasons that the Confederate flag should be banned in America. Because many Germans understandably would have a negative reaction to it, due to the history of the symbol in their country.

I ain't about no slavery but I sure as fuck think Hitler affected the entire world a bit more than our country did with slavery. My ancestors were slaves as well, your ancestors were slaves, everyone's ancestors were slaves. Slavery is a sick abomination but Hitler torching innocent people, men women and children, takes the cake for me. I think they all ought to be banned if one gets banned.

Agreed,
You can't focus on one without involving others. If they are gonna take the time to ban a flag for what it "represents" then they need to ban all flags found to be offensive or discriminatory.

Our of all, the swastikas should be banned over the Confederate flag, consideration of coarse that the Confederate flag was not even used as the flag for the Confederate army but was a divisional flag used by Confederate soldiers to identify there territory. Just because some wack job nut post a picture of the Confederate flag before doing some stupid shit does not mean that his believe or understanding should alter the history behind the flag.

[UTK]

No flags should be banned in the U.S. Taken off of government buildings, yes, but the average person should be able to own and wave around any sort of flag they want.

[lyonssv]

No flags should be banned in the U.S. Taken off of government buildings, yes, but the average person should be able to own and wave around any sort of flag they want.

This. Regardless of whether you agree with an opinion, whether its ass backwards or not, people are allowed to have whatever opinion or wave whatever flag we want. This is America.

[lyonssv]

As far as the gay marriage thing,


I'm as conservative as it gets politically, and I am not bothered at all by the fact that gay marriage is now legal. I also do not agree with the attitude that just become someone does not agree with gay marriage automatically makes them a "bigot". That word is thrown around so nonchalantly now, it's ridiculous.

If I was going to be irritated by anything in this matter, it is the Supreme Court basically took democracy out of it. I feel like this should have been put in front of the people on a ballot. It would have passed, way more than a majority of 5-4, I believe. But, in a democracy, I do not like the federal government doing things like this. I also do not like Obamacare for many of the same reasons. The government is supposed to be run by the people, and the people should make these decisions.

HOWEVER, I am not irritated about this result itself, because this literally has no effect on my life. If Joe wants to marry Tom or Susie wants to marry Ann, let them. That has always been my opinion. What happens in someone else's household is none of my business.

[EmperorWu]

No flags should be banned in the U.S. Taken off of government buildings, yes, but the average person should be able to own and wave around any sort of flag they want.

This. Regardless of whether you agree with an opinion, whether its ass backwards or not, people are allowed to have whatever opinion or wave whatever flag we want. This is America.

As much as I agree with this, I just have to wonder. How would all these people flying the Confederate flag feel if a bunch of Americans started flying the Isis flag or something like that. I very much doubt they would be crying for freedom to wave that flag.

To me the notion of calling yourself a "real American" and then flying the flag of an enemy entity is just strange and nonsensical. I'm not against it, it just never made sense to me. I know some people will say it's their heritage. But from my understanding that flag only started being waved around again in the 60's after the civil rights movement popped up, it was used as a clear symbol of intimidation and hate from that point forward. So this idea that it has been flown high forever and it's true meaning is a symbol of heritage is BS. It was all but forgotten until black people wanted to be treated like human beings.

[Circled Square]

Why are the south the enemy? If I had family from the south who fought in the civil war it'd be kinda sad knowing I can't even -own- the flag without being some bigot. It's a slippery slope if you start removing history that's uncomfortable from our country. Nobody is going around lynching blacks these days, at least not very often. It's lost the racist context IMO considering it's both defunct and old. If I killed someone, and they found a picture of me holding a picture of Al Roker, would Al Roker be banned lmao?

[Everlong]

Why are the south the enemy

I mean if we're talking from a historical standpoint it's probably because they're the ones who primarily fought to continue the enslavement and daily torture of black Americans...

[Everlong]

If I killed someone, and they found a picture of me holding a picture of Al Roker, would Al Roker be banned lmao?

Ah yes, @Hanley!'s favorite reductio ad absurdum tactic

I don't know why we're talking so much about the confederate flag in this post when it's a completely unrelated issue. But it seems a lot of you guys are be under the impression that there's pending litigation saying the confederate flag should be banned outright. That's not even the case. The big movement right now is to stop it from flying at government buildings. I think that's a pretty reasonable request. Businesses are stopping selling the flag right now because clearly it's a hot button PR issue right now. It has nothing to do with the flag being permanently banned.

Although granted, I don't think there's any decent reason to own or fly a confederate flag as a private citizen, but there isn't an entire ban of the flag even being discussed by legislators. You guys are getting worked up over nothing.

[Circled Square]

The "lmao" at the end was my attempt at driving home the point that the Roker reference is a joke. They banned them being sold on Amazon, ebay, etc. It's just a slap in the face IMO to people who own the flag who aren't KKK members or whatever, and there's no reason to take it down from the government buildings. The confederate flag discussion would be better placed in the Charleston thread but that's neither here nor there.

[Everlong]

If I was going to be irritated by anything in this matter, it is the Supreme Court basically took democracy out of it. I feel like this should have been put in front of the people on a ballot. It would have passed, way more than a majority of 5-4, I believe. But, in a democracy, I do not like the federal government doing things like this. I also do not like Obamacare for many of the same reasons. The government is supposed to be run by the people, and the people should make these decisions.

I keep seeing this opinion all over the internet, and it essentially boils down to a lack of understanding of the purpose and function of the Supreme Court. The court interprets law, and found the proper interpretation of the 14th amendment allows gay marriage. Its job is to ensure the law is properly regulated and followed, regardless of how popular the decision is.

It's not a question of whether people agree with making a new law to allow gay marriage. The court ruled EXISTING law ALREADY allows gay marriage, and such bans were unconstitutional. HUGE difference.

And anyway, when has there ever been a national referendum on issues like these? Never. That's the entire reason we elect representatives to write and pass laws on our behalf in congress.

Also, to those saying this should have been a decision made by the people: are you also against the Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education to allow integration in American public schools? Racial integration was by FAR a more hot button issue when that case occurred than gay marriage is at this point. The Supreme Court made a ruling that the correct interpretation of the law was to allow for integrated schoools. One could easily argue people wouldn't have willingly allowed for integration, especially in the south, for decades after Brown v. Board of Education happened. Should the court have sat on its ass and waited for people's opinions to change rather than doing the right thing, even though it was unpopular to many people?

[Everlong]

They banned them being sold on Amazon, ebay, etc.

Right, private companies. Weren't you just saying private businesses should have the right to deny service or products to whoever they want, for any reason? Remember, cake makers and gays people?

Why should it be any different for people who want to buy confederate flags using services run by corporations not under federal control? Amazon and Ebay can use whatever terms of service they want.

there's no reason to take it down from the government buildings.

Except for it being a symbol of a nonexistant country founded on the basis of hate, prejudice and slavery, issues which still cause a significant divide in our country to this day.

[Locke]

Why are the south the enemy

I mean if we're talking from a historical standpoint it's probably because they're the ones who primarily fought to continue the enslavement and daily torture of black Americans...

In the past, but some of you "White Knights" need to let that shit go. It's fucking 2015.

[Westcoastvibes]

Why are the south the enemy

I mean if we're talking from a historical standpoint it's probably because they're the ones who primarily fought to continue the enslavement and daily torture of black Americans...

That is actually incorrect. They fought because they did not want to be held to the same laws, tax's, and rules as the north. If you dig into history, the south was on its way to free the slaves after various other countries did the same. It was the north that used slavery as a war propaganda against the south. The war was NOT about slavery, it was about money. The south produced a majority of the money and the north did not want to lose that money by letting them split.