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  populist2 months, 2 weeks ago

  Personally, I think that the government should get out of the marriage business altogether. It just serves as a way to politicize - and, of course, to prevent other people from doing things.

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    Candida2 months, 2 weeks ago

    I don't see how the government getting out of the marriage business would help. Who should marry people? Just the churches? Who would marry the atheists? Or are you are suggesting that the act of marriage should be a completely private matter and have no legal consequences? That I could accept, but even that has problems, like who is the next of kin, who can make decisions for people who can't make them themselves.

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      populist2 months, 2 weeks ago

      I say totally religious or private. And people can set up wills, and private contracts, pre-nups, etc, etc, etc. when you put it in the hands of the state, the state becomes like a god. telling us who can and cannot live together or be married, or whatever. Too much power for people to fight over.
      
      I say free us all....

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        david_nwpa2 months, 2 weeks ago

        Populist, your answer to this problem is too simplistic. One nagging problem is that marriage is a part of our Immigration policy, for lack of a better term for it. If a hetero couple is legally married and one of the pair is a US citizen, then the other can apply for citizenship and get acceptance fairly quickly. In the case of gay couples, the problem is that birth families often come back to the scene of the will and try to take away any inheritance intended for the person left alive.
        
        Marriage is a civil institution in Europe and has been for centuries. I say allow gay and lesbian couples to wed and grant them the citizenship status we rightfully deserve. Rather than being second class citizens, we should be accepted as equals.

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          Candida2 months, 2 weeks ago

          I agree David. A large part of our legal system is based on married couples. If various religions want to stay out of marrying gays, that's their business, but the state should not deny gay couples any of the rights and obligations heterosexual couples have.
          
          You may ask, populist, whether we need legal marriage at all. It's possible to imagine a society without it, but I doubt that it would become acceptable in the near future. It would require a completely different way of thinking and legal structure.
          
          I sometimes wonder why it's so easy to get married but quite difficult to get divorced, even if both parties agree. I guess it's in society's, or at least the state's, interest to maintain marriages.

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          populist2 months, 2 weeks ago

          I just want people to be able to live their lives however they see fit - without having to go to the king for permission.
          
          If that's too simplistic, consider me guilty as charged!

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            david_nwpa2 months, 2 weeks ago

            Your sentiment is heard loud and clearly. I would like nothing more than to push the government out of its overbearing, overarching role as protectorate of my life. I certainly do not want the government invading my bedroom or my relationships. The only business it has injecting itself is in the event of my untimely death. Until such time, it should not have the role to say who I cannot marry, as long as the person is of age and not a direct relative.
            
            The religious taboos against marriage equality established by religious bodies should have no bearing on civil marriages.

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  Candida2 months, 2 weeks ago

  The whole gay marriage issue is much adu about nothing. So far nobody has explained to me satisfactorily what heterosexuals lose by giving equal rights to homosexuals. I don't feel like I've lost anything.
  
  On July 20, 2005, Bill-38 received royal assent in Canada. With that, "Marriage equality for same-sex couples became the law of the land....Following this historic moment, the world did not stand still to listen to the roar of celebratory fireworks. No church bells peeled and traffic wasn't snarled by widespread dancing in the streets. The world simply turned on - and that's the way it should be.
  http://www.samesexmarriage.ca/legal/qui210705.htm

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  Ratskii2 months, 2 weeks ago

  Now I'm glad that the Orson Scott Card book I own were bought used.

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