Quote:
Originally Posted by CaptainHaplo
Gotta disagree with you. Marriage is a civil contract between consenting parties. As such, it should not be the realm of the state to decide who can or cannot consent to enter into a contractual understanding with another (or other) consenting person.
The idea that it is a "right" or a "privilege" are both part of what has caused the issue to even exist. The issue is not about what people do in their bedrooms - if it were you would have the "bible thumpers" demanding that sodomy laws be enforced. The issue is an attempt to redefine a traditional word that has its earliest significant references found in religious texts. For example, both Christianity and Islam claim Adam and Eve as the "origins" of humanity. While neither text states clearly that they were married, they both show a picture of a married couple. Their son, Cain is the first specific mention of marriage in religious texts. There are no known non-religious texts or records that would predate the religious claims.
There are truly 2 different issues here - one is an intentional attack on a religious commitment in an attempt to redefine in and thus modify the religious acceptance of homosexuality. That is simply a wrong action attempted by proponents of "gay marriage". The second is the reality that a civil union between two (or more) consenting adults is not the business of anyone else - be it the church, the state, or the neighbors down the street. As such, society (including churches and states) should back the heck out of what people do in their own bedrooms provided it is between consenting adults.
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Okay, marriage as a religious thing simply does not matter here, because it does not count for everyone as we have separation of church and state and not everyone is governed by religion.Some of us are religious, some of us are atheists like myself, I could care less if a man in a robe etc performed a ceremony.I am speaking of legally recognized marriage by a state, which issues a marriage license which entitles you to said privileges.Marriage, much like a driver's license is a privilege, state's set their standards, as long as it does not deny said privilege on grounds of say race or gender or other members of a suspect class.Homosexuals are not a suspect class, so denying them a marriage license is not illegal.However(not sure about all but just saying), I believe most state's laws that do not allow gay marriage simply define marriage as between a man and a woman, really the same thing as saying you must be 16 and pass a driving test to obtain a license or that you can not marry your sister etc. Gun ownership is a RIGHT, freedom of speech is a RIGHT, marriage , in the civil marriage, legal sense, is not.