Gay Marriage...

Is marriage something gays and lesbians really want to be attached to?

As i see it, marriage is a failed institution. It is not a contract for life, it is a contract for an undetermined period of time until such time that two people no longer can bear to be together. With something like a 50% failure rate, I would hardly consider it to be a successful venture, or something that needs protecting. In fact, i suspect gay and lesbian couples would more likely raise that percent of success, though of course we would not get any credit for that. I figure lesbians, well, you have two women, and women are all about committment, staying together and are generally good at working things out. Then you have two guys... guys are not as strong on committment, so, if you can get two of them to agree to marriage, you have something rare and special, indeed.

Of course there is always the "benefits" issue. I totally agree that gay couples deserve the same, identical, benefits as heterosexual couples. But i believe this can be accomplished through civil unions. In fact, i think the term "marriage" should be removed from state and federal law completely. Marriage is a religious ceremony, not a civil one. It is a rite, not a right. As such, its regulation belongs entirely within the church, mosque, temple or whatever. Civil marriage should be renamed civil union for EVERYONE! That is what we should be doing. There is no place in government for regulation of religious ceremony.

TRANSFERRED FROM TAO OF APU... ORIGINALLY POSTED ON MARCH 12, 2005