[Ken Chin]

Some news items reported indications that the teen boy had been in an ongoing sexual relationship with the man for quite some time (and it appears it could be a case of accidental asphyxiation). This tragic outcome was not classifiable as a crime based on bias against a sexual orientation, so it could not be reported as one. A comparison would have to be made to instances wherein underage females were having sex with men, which happens too often.

User Detail :  

Name : Ken Chin, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Asian, Age : 38, City : New York City, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Computer Programmer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ken Chin]

Regarding response: ‘Gays have the right to pursue happiness. They just may be denied the right to marriage. What if torturing babies for fun made me happy? Should I be allowed to pursue that? Maybe, but the law does not have to permit it. Therefore, the right to pursue happiness seems to be different than making something legal for happiness’ sake.’ The right to happiness does not grant unrestricted authority/freedom, and the original writer surely did *not* think it did. She questions *where* a particular line has been drawn, not that lines need to be drawn. She was asking people to reason about civil marriages (and the attendant benefits, rights, and responsibilities) for a specific group of couples engaged in long-term, committed, mutually respectful relationships (she sees no sufficiently compelling justification for government to disallow such marriages). Her concern is neither reducible to a general issue of why freedoms are limited by laws, nor comparable to a narrow example of torturing babies.

User Detail :  

Name : Ken Chin, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Asian, Age : 38, City : New York City, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Computer Programmer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ken Chin]

On polygamy, some Old Testament patriarchs come to mind; also in Biblical times, Leverite marriages wherein a (possibly already married) man was obligated to marry his brother’s wife, and produce an heir, if his brother died prematurely. In an egalitarian society like ours, where men and women are not so unequal in status that an ordinary man can easily monopolize the long-term attentions of several free women, polygamy is a much harder sell. Most people recognize that some discrimination is rational and that some is not. It is invalid to argue that removing one restriction (sexual orientation, not preference) must be extended to removing all other restrictions (e.g. age). Similarly, permitting a minority religious group – say, pacifist Buddhist motorcylist nuns – does not mean we put out the welcome mat for human sacrificers. What’s needed is not a coarse, blunt lack of rational discernment, but finer, keener distinctions.

User Detail :  

Name : Ken Chin, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Gay, Race : Asian, Age : 38, City : New York City, State : NY, Country : United States, Occupation : Computer Programmer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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