For starters, I vote Republican at Federal level, but Libertarian at State and below. So I have no Christian/Fundie axe to grind here. I peg somewhere in the “Agnostic” range on the religion-meter.
I have no qualms about same sex marriages, with full legal recognition, but my internal jury is still out concerning same sex couples adopting children (I did not say I was against them, just undecided!)
Considering that Unlimited Powers of Attorney can be drwan up, that Living Wills and Last Wills and Testaments can be drawn up, is it truly necessary to legalise same sex marriages?
The only other factor not covered under “general legal stuff” is health care and prescription medication benefits, and possibly employment/employer discrimination. Maybe Social Security/government (like taxes) benefits as well. And I fully realize that that “factor not covered” may indeed cover quite a bit of ground
Legalised same sex marriage may give those couples some protection and access to benefits that they are otherwise denied. Tax breaks and such (hey, I said I voted Republican and Libertarian ;)).
But if I were running an insurance company, I would run the probabilities, study the numbers, and then offer insurance packages to those people, based upon the likely risk those couples engender.
It only makes business sense, considering the demographic and income levels of the majority of same sex couples (I know that a “majority” isn’t entirely inclusive, but I feel that it is a reasonable opening to a dialogue and eventual compromise).
Basically, I don’t think it’s anybody’s business as to who’s sleeping with whom; not your’s, not mine, not the media’s, the private sector’s or the government’s.
But I haven’t figured out exactly how deep this can of worms truly is, and how far “inclusion” is going to go. Not in the sense in how many people and what types, but where can the “Law of Unintended Consequences” rear its ugly little head and wreak merry havoc on our society?
ExTank
“Mostly Harmless :p”