In a brief glancing at political issues, I browsed some stances on same-sex marriage by Republicans and Democrats. Several were listed as opposing same-sex marriage but supporting the equal rights of same-sex couples as civil unions. I wonder if it's really realistic to have it both ways.
But what is marriage, really? And who gets to define it? If we define it with any religious origin, doesn't that mean that a couple married in a courthouse by a justice of the peace aren't really married? But it wasn't a religious union... Does that mean that those couples are just "domestic partners" and not husband and wife?
If we say it's a man and a woman for procreation, then doesn't that mean that childless couples aren't married yet until they have kids?
So what really distinguishes a marriage from just some shared living arrangement? It can't be about a priest waving hands over rings. It can't be about kids (which can be adopted, let's not forget).
I say what makes a marriage is the solemn reverence it's entered into with. It's the commitment to each other. It's two people joining to create a new "us" entity. It's the two each becoming more than they were by themselves. It's the intention to be that makes it.
I say--if it's deliberate and intentional (sacred in whatever way)... with promises made before witnesses... in some form of ceremony that makes the event meaningful... Do the other details really matter? Being married changes you. Maybe both parties should change their last names...?
Races can intermarry, right? People with different hair color can intermarry, right? Or they can be the same race, right? I don't see why gender need be any different.
So that makes me pro same-sex marriage.
Now, I will admit I believe children are best off with a mother and a father (although a "Mommy" and a "Daddy" is better still...). That doesn't mean I'm against two mothers or two fathers. More and more children only seem to have only one. That's the less-than-ideal situation. Kids are here to experience. I happen to believe that kids benefit from having both male and female influences around them. Then again, I'm not entirely sure that two parents are enough...
[posted to Vocalo.org 10/28/07]
Posted by fictionman at October 27, 2007 10:17 PM | TrackBack (0)