I guess their argument is that somehow gay people being married would destroy the sanctity of marriage for us straights. Of course, the fact that half of marriages end in divorce and that over half of married people end up cheating at some point in their lives is irrelevant, of course. Why concentrate on sins that actually hurt people and affect, you know, actual members of your own religion, rather than people who wouldn’t be caught dead there?
I’m with most of the people in this thread regarding the OP. Call it marriage. That’s what it is.
Hmmm well lemme think divorce, spouse abuse, alimony payments, custody battles. I think gays should consider the possibility that they and the rest of us are better off without the damn thing
Yeah, and what IS up with the fact that Mr Shrub and Con-gress (the opposite of PROgress) are talking about a CONSTITUTINAL AMENDMENT(!) defining marriage as between a man and a woman? WTF??? What happend to "separation of church and state, hmmm???
I don’t give a rat’s ass if the fundies don’t like gays, and don’t like the idea of gay marriage. FINE! That’s their perogative. But this is supposed to be a FREE SOCIETY where as long as you aren’t hurting others, you’re free to do as you please, pretty much. So, ignore 'em or leave 'em alone, just don’t deny them their basic rights as human beings!!
I totally agree. I see no point in labelling the union between homosexuals any different then the union between heterosexuals.
I’ve never understood why it matters to the heterosexual people who would deny homosexuals the chance to marry. I mean, what is it to them anyway? In my mind, they can’t stand behind their religion to claim this, because you don’t see them complaining when atheists get married, or when other religious people get married.
Well… I’m not so certain I agree with you faldureon. Marriage comes with a whole host of legal benefits as well (ability to make medical decisions on behalf of an incapacitated spouse comes to mind).
However, having said that, I think it would be a tactical mistake to insist on using the word “Marriage” in the fight for legalized gay unions. Marriage is a sacred and religious (as well as legal) bond for a lot of people. I can understand their objectections to the use of an institution they consider religious in nature by a group of people who, by their nature (as they see it anyway), are antithetical to their religious values. I don’t necessarily agree with that view but I can understand where it’s coming from.
Insistence on the use of the word marriage for gays, prior to receiving the actual legal rights bestowed by marriage, IMO will generate more resistance. Easier, IMO, to call for legal Civil Unions for gays (which, for all intents and purposes, bestow the same rights and responsibilities as a standard marriage) and then, once that is accomplished, to gradually adopt the use of the word marriage to describe it.
The only way I’d be willing to consider a different word is if they get to get married and we have to get something else. Why is it naturally fair that we hets should get to keep the word ‘married’? It’s not. The whole thing is ridiculous.
A loving union between two adults who choose to spend the rest of their lives together is a marriage, not because of the religious connotations of the word but because of the social structural connotations of the word. That’s why people who are married by judges are just as married as people who are married by priests. Or Elvises. The commitment and the legal recognition of the commitment are what matters. I just don’t see how the gender of the two people involved really matters, except to them.
Mawidge. Mawidge is what bwings us together today. Mawidge is a dweam wiffin a dweam.
Okay, I’m with those who think that since the damn things are marriages, just call them marriages, and anyone who doesn’t like it can go sit on a broomstick. I just wanted to say ‘Mawidge.’
How about we have “mmarriage” for gay men, “mwarriage” for hetero marriage, and “wwariage” for lesbians? Polygamy might get tough to pronounce, though.
Seriously, it’s marriage for everyone, and the old one-finger salute to people who don’t like it.
