On Nov 9, 2008, at 12:09 AM, Orlando Leibovitz wrote:
...
In my opinion this is not a marriage issue, it is a civil rights
issue.
And there you have the problem in a nutshell. "Gay marriage"
confounds the two.
One the one hand, the word "marriage" creates considerable angst on
gay issues within the various religions. The recent Anglican/Episcopal
split was largely over gay marriage and gay bishops. This is a
complex issue where religions have to confront difficult problems
within themselves. And definitely a church/state boundary.
On the other hand, gay civil rights are clear: they are being violated
and the strictly civil rights have to be granted immediately. "Civil
union", however, may be a distasteful term to the gay community.
Most of silicon valley had to deal with this within their corporate
laws. They all grant gay civil rights by now. They simply had to
change the concept of "partner" and insurance, spousal rights and so
on were easily solved. I don't believe religions are concerned about
this solution. As far as I know, the government does not object, and
even allows for joint tax filing.
I wonder if the word "marriage" were taken out of the equation, would
it at least help obtain civil rights for gay couples?
-- Owen
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