Gay Marriage Vs. Civil Union

I wanted to get married at the courthouse and my wife wanted to get married in a church. Guess who won? She did. I was unsure about most religions having observed a great deal of hypocrisy and she was dedicated to the idea of a church wedding. The end result was a church wedding with the majority of guests sitting on “her side” of the isle.

My personal experience isn’t that relevant but in the interest of full disclosure, I explain it. You see, I agree with the “Christian Right” that “marriage” is generally accepted as a Bible based ceremony and belongs in a church. But since in this country we have a practicing separation of church and state, we the people have laws that allow for church ceremonies to be accepted as state ceremonies by sanction of the state. A “Preacher” must have state authority to perform the ceremony and that’s what makes it legal. Look at your marriage "license" to view it for your state.

What if I had had my way and we married at the courthouse? We would still be “married” (a derivative of the word Marriage) and we would still be “legal.” The difference? Both are state sanctioned but only one is church sanctioned.

Here’s what I propose; Let the churches keep their ceremony of marriage and let the state perform “civil ceremonies” at courthouses and let them both be legal! The difference would be a true separation of church and state, but both satisfy the requirements of the state. The technical difference is that a church “wedding” would be “marriage” and a courthouse “wedding” would be a “civil union.”

Churches that deny homosexual marriage do not have to allow them. The state, which does not allow discrimination based on race, gender, national origin, sexual preference, (or any others I may have overlooked), would not call it a “Marriage.” Thus, one is a civil union while the other is a marriage. Both are equal under the state law.

Problem solved, solution applied and let’s get on with serious problems. . .What was that? You say, “What about religious gays that want to marry in a church?”

That’s between you and the church! Don’t get the state involved. It doesn’t belong there!

That’s As I see it. . .