California's top court overturns gay marriage ban

[DaemonSeid]

Originally Posted by DSTCHAOS

I was gonna cue Prince's Beautiful Ones.

That will work..so...now..make your choice.

[shinerbock]

Originally Posted by DeltAlum

With emphasis on the "substantial portion." Not the entire structure of American Law.

The decision here is not on civil unions, but marriage.

Right?

A quick comment on the New Testiment replacing the Old -- from the Christian viewpoint. Not everyone is Christian.

No, not the entire structure, but a very substantial portion. I'm not advocating that we should reference the Bible when states determine that they desire to continue the tradition of marriage being between one man and one woman.

You're right, the decision here is on marriage. However, people are complaining about gay couples not having equal access the things that accompany marriage, but in CA...they did. So what does that mean? Equality isn't sufficient unless they're allowed to force their way into an establishment they traditionally haven't been a part of?

This argument is about semantics for a lot of people, but the continued efforts of the gay community, even when receiving something mirroring marriage, provides valuable insight to the goals of their movement.

So to liberals and gay persons, would nationwide civil unions, if not called marriage, be sufficient?

[RU OX Alum]

probably not, marriage is marriage, if someone is gay and christian they would want the same sacrement:

but here is my question

couldn't the catholic church sue anyone who calls it "marriage" since they were the ones who made it a sacrement?

seriously, shouldn't everyone who is not catholic call it something else?

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by DeltAlum

A quick comment on the New Testiment replacing the Old -- from the Christian viewpoint. Not everyone is Christian.

We said this a few pages back.

[AGDee]

Originally Posted by RU OX Alum

probably not, marriage is marriage, if someone is gay and christian they would want the same sacrement:

but here is my question

couldn't the catholic church sue anyone who calls it "marriage" since they were the ones who made it a sacrement?

seriously, shouldn't everyone who is not catholic call it something else?

They made it a sacrament for Roman Catholics only. They don't have power over anybody else. However, since marriage existed prior to that, then no, they couldn't sue. They don't own the term marriage or else no other religions would be able to use it either.

If you're going to call it a civil union for everybody who doesn't get married in a church, then fine. Or should I say, doesn't get unioned in a church? Why create more red tape and bureaucracy when we already have such a thing, called marriage? Why do we want to continue to inflate our government? Double the forms, double the requirements, etc. For what? Seems like a waste of resources to me.

And, if you're going to use the biological argument that the only purpose of marriage is procreation then you better ban it for everybody who is sterile too, whether by choice or by nature. "Oops, sorry, you had the mumps when you were 10 and are sterile now? No marriage license for you!"

[Rudey]

I'm still waiting for someone to explain why only certain marriages would be allowed...why can't someone marry a cow? You can eat the cow, you won't torture the cow...why can't you marry it? And if you're both adults why can't a father and daughter get married?

Please, keep morality and religion out of it since you're not fans of that nonesense. Thanks.

[Senusret I]

Animals cannot give consent to be married.

[Rudey]

Originally Posted by Senusret I

Animals cannot give consent to be married.

They can consent to be killed? How about father and daughter?

Once you remove the argument of morality, I just don't see where it ends.

[nittanyalum]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

You're right, the decision here is on marriage. However, people are complaining about gay couples not having equal access the things that accompany marriage, but in CA...they did. So what does that mean? Equality isn't sufficient unless they're allowed to force their way into an establishment they traditionally haven't been a part of?

This argument is about semantics for a lot of people, but the continued efforts of the gay community, even when receiving something mirroring marriage, provides valuable insight to the goals of their movement.

So to liberals and gay persons, would nationwide civil unions, if not called marriage, be sufficient?

This is so not an argument about semantics. This was discussed I thought really well a few pages ago, but to re-visit the question, NO, civil unions or domestic partnerships ARE NOT nearly the same as marriage. Read here: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0922609.html for full info. Prime points below:

Definitions

“Same-sex marriage” means legal marriage between people of the same sex.
* Massachusetts issues marriage licenses to same-sex couples (since 2004). On May 15, 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry. When the ruling goes into effect in June 2008, California will be the second state to legalize same-sex marriages.

“Civil union” is a category of law that was created to extend rights to same-sex couples. These rights are recognized only in the state where the couple resides.
* Vermont (since 2000), Connecticut (since Oct. 2005), New Jersey (since Dec. 2006), and New Hampshire (since 2007).

“Domestic partnership” is a new category of law that was created to extend rights to unmarried couples, including (but not necessarily limited to) same-sex couples. Laws vary among states, cities, and counties. Terminology also varies; for example, Hawaii has “reciprocal beneficiaries law.” Any rights are recognized only on the state or local level.
* Statewide laws in California, Hawaii, and Maine, Oregon, Washington, and district-wide laws in the District of Columbia, confer certain spousal rights to same-sex couples.

What's the Difference?

The most significant difference between marriage and civil unions (or domestic partnerships) is that only marriage offers federal benefits and protections.

According to the federal government's General Accounting Office (GAO), more than 1,100 rights and protections are conferred to U.S. citizens upon marriage. Areas affected include Social Security benefits, veterans' benefits, health insurance, Medicaid, hospital visitation, estate taxes, retirement savings, pensions, family leave, and immigration law.

Because same-sex marriages in Massachusetts, civil unions, and domestic partnerships are not federally recognized, any benefits available at the state or local level are subject to federal taxation. For example, a woman whose health insurance covers her female partner must pay federal taxes on the total employer cost for that insurance.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by AGDee

If you're going to call it a civil union for everybody who doesn't get married in a church, then fine.

Agreed. In fact, why not retire the term "marriage" altogether?

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by Rudey

How about father and daughter?

Consanguinity? Probably the same reason siblings can't get married...

[christiangirl]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Consanguinity? Probably the same reason siblings can't get married...

hijack

If we're going to argue that one should have the freedom to pledge one's love to whomever one chooses, then should siblings be allowed to marry?

[Rudey]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

Consanguinity? Probably the same reason siblings can't get married...

If they don't have kids, then it's ok? if you're a royal then it's ok to enjoy marryin family members?

It just doesnt hold.

[preciousjeni]

Originally Posted by Rudey

If they don't have kids, then it's ok? if you're a royal then it's ok to enjoy marryin family members?

It just doesnt hold.

I don't know that I would fight against incestuous marriages if they were ever to be up for national discussion. Anyway, I went to high school with a guy who grew up with his step-sister from the time they were infants. They ended up marrying.

[sigmadiva]

Originally Posted by AGDee

And, if you're going to use the biological argument that the only purpose of marriage is procreation then you better ban it for everybody who is sterile too, whether by choice or by nature. "Oops, sorry, you had the mumps when you were 10 and are sterile now? No marriage license for you!"

Ahh, but now you are mixing biology with the very human concept of marriage.

As I understood your statement, you wanted a reason other than religion. Biology exists outside religion.

From a purely biological standpoint, your assumption would be right - for those who are sterile, they can not procreate. There would be no biological advantage to do so. But, since humans do crazy things like fall in love, the basic biological urge to mate with the best fit goes out of the window.