Thread started: Nov 14 2008, 4:49 PM EST
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I posted this in the main forum, but think protesting a religious institution is a bad idea...
There's a religiously defined marriage and a legally defined marriage. Separation of church and state already dictates that marriages performed in a church between two people of the same gender should be recognized - and there are many religious institutions that have been doing so for years.
The thing is, this isn't only a movement about love. We won that movement in the 1980s when it was no longer illegal for two people of the same gender to hook up.
This is a movement about legality and responsibility, period. That's what marriage, as defined by government, is.
I already love my girlfriend. I'll love her if I marry her or if I don't, regardless (all the usual pitfalls of relationships aside!) If I can or if I can't get married, I'm still planning to share my life with her. However, I want the legal responsibility to take care of her, and vice versa.
The whole fight for marriage equality is about two people, ALREADY in love, wanting to step up and take legal responsibility for one another, in sickness and health, and to share their resources with one another. That is what ALL marriage is. The religious side of it is another thing entirely - and certainly doesn't need the approval of government. No. The government is in charge of finances, healthcare, legal rights, and THAT is why they need to acknowledge a union that they already made legal two decades ago.
The whole voting for Prop 8 and similar laws are people simply trying to tell other adults who we can love. They're confused. We already can - and will - spend our lives with who we choose, regardless. We need to focus on our legal rights, rather than religious belief.
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