In fact, Gay Marriage Should NOT be Legal

Hope that got your attention. I'm sure several of my Facebook friends would be surprised to think I would have reversed my position supporting their "right" to marry. While it's true I certainly believe you and I should have no say in whether two other people choose to marry - and I admit I wrote the title mainly to get you to read on - I do stand behind my statement, with a bit of clarification: gay marriage should not be legal and neither should heterosexual marriage, Christian marriage, atheist marriage, or any marriage period.

Since marriage began as a religious ceremony, shouldn't the first amendment have prohibited the government from taking any actions with respect to how, when, where, why, or especially who? But because it did, now we have new problems with people wanting government to again step in and "redefine" the word. Those who oppose gay marriage have one thing (sort of) right: "Where will it stop?"

The most effective way to solve this problem once and for all, fairly and equitably for everyone, is to remove the concept of legal marriage altogether. Keep it in the civilian world completely. This way if some church or other group doesn't want to recognize your marriage, then who cares? Ignore them. If some person refuses to perform your ceremony, find someone who will. We asked a friend of ours if he would be willing to get ordained online to perform our ceremony because we only wanted friends and family involved in our wedding. There are other solutions besides more government involvement.

Now we would still need some form of legal partnership available to tackle such issues as survivor benefits, child custody, and other responsibilities I may not even know about. This is where the concept of civil unions or domestic partnership would come into play. They would not just be for gay couples, but for any consenting adults who have committed to one another ("married" or not) and want to formally protect their rights in the legal system.

Absolutely we should keep the concepts of marriage and domestic partneship separate: one civil (marriage) and one legal (domestic partnership). You would be free to enter into one or both (or neither) as you see fit.

Obviously I have shown how this system would benefit "gay rights" but we would also need the religious conservatives on board. My plea to you, besides the inherent "rightness" of this solution, is to recognize that this really is no change from what you are currently seeking. Your church is still free to define marriage as you see fit. No one will force you to recognize gay marriage or perform those ceremonies if you still feel they go against the beliefs of your faith. Whether there is a law on the books or a Constitutional amendment, there really is nothing that can stop someone from having a wedding and calling themselves married, even today.

Further infringement of human rights (and thus greater government involvement) is the crime, not the solution.

----------------
Now playing: The Who - Love Reign O'er Me
via FoxyTunes