Where do you stand on other controversial issues?

Yep. And then there's the revenue generation it would allow....

 

Criminalization also generates revenue. One of the big sources of opposition is from the prison industry and prison guard unions.

 

actually good point, there was a small aside about the work done by the prison population on an episode of QI, it was flabbergasting. Had to do some reading after that

Still, it might be even more lucrative to break into the ganja business, who knows?

 

Abortion? I am pro-choice, and I think it's worth getting violent about.
Death Penalty? In favor, and I believe rape and torture should be made capital crimes. However, I think there's a serious problem with our justice system, such that in most cases a moratorium is more appropriate until those problems are corrected. There is nothing problematic about capital punishment as a matter of principle.
No fault divorce? How this is even controversial is beyond me. People should not be forced to be in relationship. If you want to divorce for "no reason" that's your prerogative.
Stem Cell Research? In favor. I think that suffering should be reduced in the world, and I think that stem cell research is a legitimate means to that end.
Pornography? It's not realistic, and there's a lot of problematic stuff out there, but there's good stuff too. I actually think queers have the best porn. It seems like a lot of straight porn is just fetishization of violence against women and their degradation. It just feels like the excitement in gay male or lesbian sex doesn't come from humiliation or violence, just a desire to feel good and make the partner feel good.
Affirmative Action? I think it's a legitimate way of correcting accumulated systemic discrimination.
Medical Marijuana? Against because I am in favor of...
Marijuana legalization? This. And unlike a lot of marijuana legalization proponents, I don't think it should be taxed or regulated like some states control alcohol.
Gun Control? I am totally against it. I think people should be allowed to purchase and own fully automatic weapons as long as they do not have a violent criminal history. I think the urge to push gun control is actually an extremely stupid idea because sometimes queers really need to be able to defend themselves; by pushing it so hard, liberals are actually hurting us.
Religious language used for nation purpose (on currency, in the pledge)? I think this is extremely negative and lamentable.
Obamacare? There are good parts about it. The individual mandate is an absurdly brain-damaged idea.

 

except that:

A - it doesn't work as a deterrent (multiple studies with differing methodologies confirm)
B - it's absurdly expensive, even moreso than it would be to keep the prisoner alive for 50 further years or more
C - innocent people get killed, and there is no system possible which would guarantee that this does not happen (except of course not having capital punishment at all)

agreed, i had never even heard of that as an issue until this thread

 

Abortion? Pro-choice, but I'm not a huge fa of the idea.
Death Penalty? Anti.
No fault divorce? In favour.
Stem Cell Research? In favour.
Pornography? I don't care, as long as they have consent of the actors.
Affirmative Action? What?
Medical Marijuana? I don't mind. If it helps people, then sure.
Marijuana legalization? In favour. Even in favour of decriminalisation and regulation of harder drugs, too.
Gun Control? I'm not sure.
Religious language used for nation purpose (on currency, in the pledge)? Disagree with this completely. Lucky I live in a country where religion isn't a public matter anyway .
Obamacare? I don't exactly know what this is, but I'm in favour for health care for all.

 

Marijuana legalization: Extremely strongly in favor. I know has been a hot button issue on this site in the past so I'm not going to say any more than that on this issue. I don't want to start any drama.

Medical Marijuana: I think its better than nothing, but it should be legalized anyway so... not a lot to say here.

Abortion: I used to be very very pro-choice, now I see both sides and basically just try to stay out of it.

Death Penalty: Against it

Pornography: As long as its between consenting adults I see no problem.

Gun Control: Against it. My dad is a big hunter. I have a gun case with 6 shotguns, a .22 rifle and a .50 muzzle loader right behind me (granted they are my dad's guns not technically mine). I shot my first shotgun when I was 9 and pretty much have been around guns the majority of my life. I think hunting is a big part of our culture (not that I'm into it anymore). Its never made sense to me to make owning a gun illegal, because then criminals would by definition be only one's with fire arms.

Religious language used for nation purpose: I would say I'm against it. I went to Catholic school for 13 years though, so I would have been surrounded by religion anyway, but if we truly are a country with freedom of religion, I believe we should act like it.

Obamacare: I'm a big fan of health care for all, but I feel somewhat ignorant on the Obamacare plan itself. I think something needs to be done to ensure health care for all, but I'm not going to speak on behalf of this plan itself.

No fault divorce: I didn't even know this was an issue. If people don't want to be together, they shouldn't be together. Derp.

Prostitution: I'm honestly interested in the idea of legalizing and regulating prostitution. Its one of human kinds earliest jobs, and I don't see it going anywhere anytime soon. I'm not saying its a moral decision, but I would feel a lot safer knowing that people can be scanned for STD's instead of spreading life threatening diseases around.

Legal Drinking Age: I believe that when someone is of age to enter a contract as an adult and decide to risk their life in the military they should be able to gamble and drink. I'm not saying its a good or bad idea, but if someone is legally considered an adult, they should at least have the respect to be able to make those decisions on their own.

Smoking in bars/restaurants: Should be up to the owner of the establishment. In Iowa its illegal to smoke in any bars/restaurants in the state. The only exception I know of is hookah bars.


Those are all the issues I can think of for now.

 

Abortion? Pro-choice, though I don't think it's good in some circumstances.

Death Penalty? Against in all cases.

No fault divorce? Tentatively for.

Stem Cell Research? Unsure, leaning towards for.

Pornography? Somewhat against; it isn't needed and can be harmful.

Affirmative Action? What does this mean?

Medical Marijuana? Leaning towards against; I don't know much about it.

Marijuana legalization? Against.

Gun Control? I kinda wish guns didn't exist. I definitely wish normal people couldn't have them.

Religious language used for nation purpose? Against. Everyone has a right to their own beliefs and all.

Obamacare? For, though my understanding is limited.

 

Abortion? I'm for this.

Death Penalty? Against this.

No fault divorce? No real opinion.

Stem Cell Research? For this.

Pornography? For this.

Affirmative Action? Not an ideal system, but it's the best option we have right now. Come up with something better, and I'm ready to leave this train.

Medical Marijuana? Yes.

Marijuana legalization? I personally disagree with it, but in the same world where smoking and alcohol are legal I think this should be too.

Gun Control? Please, please take guns out of our hands.

Religious language used for nation purpose (on currency, in the pledge)? It bothers me a little, but I don't have any real issue with it.

Obamacare? A great system that a very large amount of people don't understand properly.

Climate Change? We really need to figure ourselves out and fix this.

 

Here are my silly not very well informed opinions on things:

Abortion? - Very pro-choice. Ideally it should happen more often and people shouldn't feel guilty about it.
Death Penalty? - I don't really see the purpose. It seems to me like it's more for achieving revenge than for justice, which I believe to be a bit barbaric.
No fault divorce? - As others have said, this really shouldn't be a controversy.
Stem Cell Research? - Benefits far outweigh the negatives, if there are even negatives in the first place.
Pornography? - I have no problems with people having a non-harmful outlet for their sexual desires.
Affirmative Action? - It might upset privileged white, straight people. Awesome!
Medical Marijuana? - Why is it even illegal? Idgi.
Marijuana legalization? - As above.
Gun Control? - They don't really exist in my country. I like that.
Religious language used for nation purpose (on currency, in the pledge)? - I think separation of church and state is very important.
Obamacare? - At the very least, it's a good foundation to build upon.

 

@Stormy, Pseudojim, and Mogget: Thanks, that's interesting to hear, I can't say I ever thought of it in that way. I'm still not sure if I agree, but at least I know better now.

 

Abortion? What's that thing we always tell people that don't like gay marriage? Don't like it, don't get one. Obviously Pro-Choice.
Death Penalty? Against. I prefer to have them rot for the rest of their lives.
No fault divorce? Sometimes things don't work out, or they did a Britney 48 hour marriage.
Stem Cell Research? 100% for it
Pornography? Needs more regulation, as well as mandatory STD testing.
Affirmative Action? Need to look into it again, but for it.
Medical Marijuana? For it.
Marijuana legalization? For it.
Gun Control? Regulation. That's all I ask for with gun control.
Religious language used for nation purpose (on currency, in the pledge)? Opposed. Especially because the pledge was the result of a Cold War scare.
Obamacare? Necessary improvement, but the individual mandate seems really murky.

 

Abortion?
Pro choice
Death Penalty?
Favour death penalty, so long it's done humanely (the one currently in use in my country [shot in the back of head] seems a bit too harsh)
No fault divorce?
Already in force where i live
Stem Cell Research?
In favour, though strong laws need to be passed to regulate research in this area very closely...
Pornography?
meh
Affirmative Action?
not an issue
Medical Marijuana?
In favour
Marijuana legalization?
Against, i actually propose banning smoking altogether, like Singapore.
Gun Control?
Not an issue here
Religious language used for nation purpose (on currency, in the pledge)?
According to the Basic Law and the Chinese Constitution our country's de jure secular
Obamacare?
Not an issue here, though i find it hard to comprehend a country as advanced and wealthy as the states actually doesn't have universal healthcare...

 

Abortion? Pro-choice.
Death Penalty? Against.
No fault divorce? Don't like it, but understand why someone would do it.
Stem Cell Research? Against.
Pornography? I don't think there's anything wrong with it, if someone becomes addicted to it, it's more the person's fault than the porn itself.
Medical Marijuana? Only if the patient really really really needs it.
Marijuana legalization? Against.
Gun Control? For.
Religious language used for nation purpose (on currency, in the pledge)? It bothers me a bit, but don't think it's too important.
Obamacare? Think it sounds good.

 

Abortion? Against, except for special situations, like birth defects.
Death Penalty? Strongly against!
No fault divorce? For.
Stem Cell Research? For.
Pornography? For.
Affirmative Action? Against. This just doesn't make sense to me at all. Positive discriminiation is still negative discrimination against the other group..
Medical Marijuana? Against.
Marijuana legalization? For.
Gun Control? For.
Religious language used for nation purpose (on currency, in the pledge)? Against.
Obamacare? For, of course! Is anyone against this? No offense, but we Dutchies consider America insane, to say the least, in regard to its outdated health care system.

 

Abortion? - I have yet to hear a solid argument from even the most intelligent pro-choice people I know for when life begins. There are much easier, cheaper, and more ethical forms of birth control. Please please please just push those. Yes, I agree there are exceptions for when it is appropriate, but in general, you're dealing with a life, not a choice. Give the damn baby away if you don't want it so badly. Sorry if that offends anyone.

Death Penalty? - I think it should be abolished if for nothing else than the retarded appeals process that wastes resources. It comes from a societal desire for vengeance, but it serves no practical purpose. I find it ironic that most of the anti-death penalty people are pro-choice and vice versa.

No fault divorce? - The vast majority of the Western World (and most of America) doesn't care what Jesus said at the Sermon on the Mount about this subject, even devout Christians, and it hasn't for decades. I don't really see where this is an issue.

Stem Cell Research? - They've discovered other ways to create stem cells other than through destroying embryos, so sure.

Pornography? - Sleazy biz, but it's something that most males partake in, whether they want to admit it or not. I suppose it has addictive and destructive qualities, but I don't really see where this is an issue either.

Affirmative Action? - This is one of those things that's offensive to everyone involved. Those who lose out because of it are pissed, and it devalues those who benefit from it because they realize that they're under-qualified, yet only got the opportunity because they're a good statistic to have based on something that wasn't under their control. It's effectively still systematically marginalizing minorities and affected groups. This seems to be primarily an issue when it comes to race and college admissions, and I have several personal anecdotes about certain ethnic friends not being happy with it.

Medical Marijuana? - Eh, sure.
Marijuana legalization? - Legalize it ---> control it better ---> less police resources wasted ---> less idiots in jail ---> more income for government. It's less harmful that cigarettes on the lungs, and it's less harmful than alcohol with mind alteration.

Gun Control? - There are too many idiots out there to not control it better.

Religious language used for nation purpose (on currency, in the pledge)? It's tradition, get over it. If I go to/live in Turkey, a secular yet largely Muslim nation, am I really going to get offended if Muslim symbolism makes its way into certain parts of government? How about Israel with its secular government and Jewish population? Thailand and Buddhism? Sweden and its de facto atheism (I'm stretching a bit with this one I suppose)? For me, the answer is no, I wouldn't be offended at all. The only people who seem get their panties in a wad over this are atheists being forceful with their system of belief.

Obamacare? - I can't say I know too much about it. I like certain aspects like banning insurance companies' pre-existing medical conditions policies. Otherwise, it largely just seems to be the government passing costs to the insurance companies and consumers. I'm a little on the fence about the European system of socialized healthcare. It certainly has its strong points, but so does America's system, which despite what you may hear is effectively socialized for the lower classes. There is a tax for county hospital districts so that they can cover costs for people without insurance. No one goes untreated here. I think America is probably too large and too capitalist to have a fully functioning, fully socialized healthcare system.

 

Life began in the Eoarchaen about 3.5 billion years ago. There is nothing different life-wise about a zygote versus a sperm or egg cell save that the former is diploid and the latter is haploid. Given that a zygote has no more consciousness than a spermatozoon, I really see no reason to treat them any differently. By the time you reach the middle of the second trimester or so there's enough of a brain that abortion becomes a relevant moral issue, but with first trimester abortions (which is the vast majority) I see no moral difference between abortion and menstruation.

 

Okay, I appreciate this a lot. I can at least see where the thought process comes from. I'm still not on board since it's still too much of a subjective/semantics argument, but I don't feel like hijacking and turning this thread into a discussion about abortion.

 

Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss it further.

 

can you really call it a tradition if it's only been printed on the dollar since 1957, contrary to the US constitution which bans federal endorsement of a deity or religion? Why should people who oppose that view just 'get over it'?

---------- Post added 18th Jul 2012 at 10:15 AM ----------

agreed, it is a sticky argument, and it is entirely subjective, but also affects no-one's body but that given subject's, and thus should be left to the individual subject in question's decision, no? I find it confusing when one can see the inherent trouble stemming from the subjective judgment calls required in coming to a conclusion on the morality of the matter, and yet still endorses the legislative banning of the allowance of any action other than pregnancy on that judgment call.