“I don’t have problems with gay marriage at all. But I would like to see it not be in a Catholic church. If they want to get married, wherever. But to me, where I grew up, the Catholic church is very sacred. And it is still sacred to me. I would take it as an offense against God, if they were getting married in a Catholic church. As far as them getting married in city hall, or any other place, I would applaud.”
(Christopher Koedas, 44, of Syracuse, self-employed auto painter, Democrat)
“We shouldn’t be able to say you shouldn’t marry this person or not. I myself have a gay aunt and she just got married. I don’t have problems with it. Like I said, whatever it makes them happy. We shouldn’t define happiness though law.”
(Crystal Kocher, 22, of Syracuse, Le Moyne College biology freshman, not affiliated with a political party)
“It should be legal. It is a constitutional right. Everyone should be able to be equal in the United States, particularly in New York. So if a man and a man, a woman and a woman, if it is about love, and they should be entitled to do so.”
(Kathleen Stress, 44, of Syracuse, chief operating officer at Food Bank of Central New York, Democrat)
“I don’t think it should be sanctioned by law. So I guess it should be not be legal. I don’t really have opinions about what people do in their own private lives and own private time. But I think by making it legal opens up a lot of other issues. And I think it is not a good idea.”
(Larry Cathcart, 51, of Syracuse, teacher in the Syracuse school district, Libertarian)
“It seems absurd if they have to travel to another state to legally marry someone that they want to marry. It should be national.”
(Dale Duffer, 60, of Syracuse, retired artist who works with wood, Republican)
“Right now, it should be starting at a state level. I don’t think it is a smart idea to start federally. I think the current climate in America, federal government tries to come in and tell all the states what to do. I think if you get the majority of states join and other states will start to follow. Take some time. And civil rights, big movements like that, will be coming.”
(Steven Fletcher, 26, of Syracuse, security officer at Oncenter, Independence Party)
“Gay America will leave more women for me. I don’t care – it is their business. They got to live a life like anybody else.”
(Terry Wallace, 41, of Syracuse, unemployed, Democrat)
(Ruth Jingnan Li is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)
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