“The Massachusetts Constitution affirms the dignity and equality of all individuals. It forbids the creation of second-class citizens.”
“The history of our nation has demonstrated that separate is seldom, if ever, equal.”
Pretty soon this will be a non-issue. But today, it’s a big deal. Now if someone on the national stage would just have the backbone to talk about the difference between civil and religious marriage, maybe we’d really get somewhere.
What is “pretty soon?” You mean like Roe vs Wade or how everyone just shrugged and accepted Brown vs Board of Education?
Your contrariness doesn’t seem to carry much of a point, Mose.
To keep with my comfortable pessimism, I think that “civil marriage” will be differentiated from “religious marriage” as soon as “lusting over another man’s daughter” carries the same connotation as “another man lusting over my daughter”. The Heterosexual Tradition — with many happy exceptions — is short on introspection and long on condemnation. I suppose we gays and lesbians would be similar, were we in any sizeable majority. In fact, despite our minority status I think we’re just as bad.
And furthermore, at the same time as Massachussetts is upholding our basic dignity and citizenship, we have the state of Ohio forbidding any legal standing for any long-term relationship other than traditional heterosexual marriage. That means: no domestic partnership, no civil unions, etc. This issue is far from over.
Adam – I have a question maybe you or a reader of yours can answer, or point me in the right direction — what are the specific differences between CIVIL UNIONS and MARRIAGE – I occasionally hear something like over 1000 legal rights that AREN’T part of, say, the CIVIL UNION law in vermont (anything from the Federal government) — but where can I find an actual list? Spousal priveledge in court proceedings, for example, is one. I guess the reason I ask is that sometimes the notion that perhaps us gays might “settle” for Civil Unions – we just don’t get the word “marriage” – but there IS a huge difference. I would just like to have the list of differences ready when I need to argue that point.
Unfortunately hailing from the state of Ohio, I plan to address that topic. When you’re planning a wedding, the incredible unfairness of wanting to keep an entire group of people from being allowed to marry really hits you, and I find nothing more insulting or infuriating than terms like “Defense of Marriage.” If you want to defend marriage, I suggest you start with my sister, who has been married to three different men in three diffferent churches. I’ll defend my own marriage, thank you very much.
Quick follow-up: Local news station in Ohio has a one-day-only poll on their site asking about support for same-sex marriage. Right now it’s unsurprisingly skewed heavily against, since we live in the ultraconservabelt, but I’d LOVE it if you could rally some support for same-sex marriage. Here’s the link:
http://www.wb64.net/cincinnati_oh/
THANKS!
“This issue is far from over.”
So, after all that hearing-yourself-speak claptrop, you agree with exactly what I said.
Thanks!
You’d be boring in a bar fight.
(I don’t get in bar fights; my hair would get messed up.)
Actually, there was a short interview with John Kerry this morning on the Today show (not live, so presumably before today’s decision) where he did talk about separation of church and state when it came to civil unions, and how the State enforcing inferior treatment of a group of Americans for religous reasons was reprehensible.
Since this was the first time I’d actually heard his voice and not just some video with announcer-talk over it, I was impressed.