I question i have: Marriage was created as a religious institution. It has been such since the advent of the church, synagogue or mosque. It has always been a religious ceremony till the last 30 odd years.
Recently there is a trend to allow gay marriages. Basically a religious institution that does not accept homosexuality is the choice of union.
Wouldn’t it just be simpler to allocate a union of two with all rights allotted to married couples to be allotted to homosexual couples, without embellishing on the sanctity of marriage? Confer the same rights as husband and wife have to all those who practice alternative lifestyle choices.
I don't think that many people associate marriage with religion. It's a way of legitimizing one's relationship to another person. Just as couples of the opposite gender can enter a legal contract that shows the world that they are committed to one another, couples of the same gender want to do the same and have the same label put on them.
Don't a lot of these gay couples care more for the rights they can have over each other as a spouse/getting same privileges as a married couple instead of the wedding ceremony itself? That's why the were repelling Prop 8 as far as I understood. The whole debate is about whether these 'registered domestic partners' should be given the same rights as a heterosexual married couple. Rights such as adoption of a child, health related decisions etc.,
I remember going to a lecture where the speaker's 'partner' had been in some sort of an accident ending up on life support. She wasn't allowed to get any special visitation or decision making privileges despite having lived with this partner for over 10 years. When she died, the minister didn't give her any rights over the funeral arrangement process.
You're right, not a lot of these gay couples are religious and care for taking vows in a church anyway. It's more about the rights they can have and they're pushing for the same ones that any other heterosexual married couple has over each other. Maybe a compromise could be reached over that. They earn these rights under the law, just not under the title of a 'married couple' or 'domestic partners'?
That's what the debate is about. Correct me if I'm wrong.
I did? I swear all that sheesha and bomb blasts has shot my memory to hell.
:(ok fine you win open 10 more threads with the topic of homosexuals and how they are destroying the sanctity of marriage for the abrahamic religions if you want, gosh how come some men are so good at that emotional coercion. i salute your talents buddy salute
