Many of us well-educated agnostics quite rationally believe that the definition of marriage should not be changed.

Well, let's see what your "quite rational" rationales are.

we think that children have a right to know and live with their biological parents

Which is why those same people are also against divorce and remarrying, adoption, foster homes, artificial insemination, and surrogate mothers for opposite-sex couples, right?

it’s a matter of common sense that men and women are designed to be together and procreate

Hence infertile opposite-sex couples aren't allowed to marry. And of course the use of "common sense" in lieu of facts, studies, well-reasoned arguments… yeah! You're certainly showing us snobby elites how smart you are.

it’s based on personal experience of growing up in a traditional family

I… I can't even figure out the supposed rationale here. "I grew up in a 'traditional' family, therefore I have to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry and have children"?

it’s based on a rational resistance to change

That's not rational. That's just being contrary.

it’s based on what their parents taught them about marriage and procreation

That's also not rational. Blindly doing something because your parents said so is about as far away from rational as it gets, really.

it’s a dislike of the public displays of sexual obsession displayed in gay events

Oh, here we go–"homosexuality is icky!" Yes, that's certainly a rational reason to deprive gays of equal rights.

it’s a review of the literature that suggests that homosexuality is environmentally caused

Such as?

it’s based on the personal experience of successfully resisting homosexual urges

Note: "successfully resisting homosexual urges" doesn't mean they've gone away or that you're no longer gay. It just means that you're repressing your own desires and not acting on them. The fact that this is the best that reparative therapy can manage to do is another point in favor of sexual orientation being immutable.

it’s because their religion teaches them that homosexuality is wrong

See my remark about parents, above.

Yeah, you guys are sooooo smart.

That's about the only sensible thing you've said.

I lived in SF for almost 20 years. I had a gay business partner, a gay lawyer, countless LGBT friends and acquaintances, and still, I never fully adjusted to the element in that community that felt that the laws of common sense and proportion don't apply to them.

10% of the population may very well persuade the other 90%. But they will never succeed in taking control of the agenda, and shouting down those that disagree…

So, stop being so touchy and feeling so entitled. Democracy is a wonderful thing if your patient about it. It's hard work–"advanced citizenship"–that can be rewarding if you work hard and get lucky, but it is a horror to those in a hurry, and being "right" is simply not enough. It's a process.

Regards ~ smedley

It hurts every time I read "loose" when "lose" was intended.

Can you work on the it's problem too?

Love,
Fiona