When we were vacationing in Maine this fall, we saw a pretty intense campaign going on about gay marriage. People in Maine are mostly secular so we were surprised to hear that the gay marriage proposal was defeated.
I was also surprised to see that the Mormon Church which defeated the gay marriage proposal in California now endorsed an anti-discrimination proposal in Utah which allows gay partners to share in economic benefits now given only to married couples.
On the same topic, the Catholic Church in Washington, DC which provides social services to the poor under contract with the city said it will not be able to provide those services to gay couples once the city recognizes gay marriage even though it provides those same services to divorced and remarried couples which it also does not recognize.
As I see it, many people feel that gay committed couples do deserve to share in the benefits allotted to heterosexual couples but they gag at the idea of legalized gay marriage since to them the word marriage is a religious ceremony blessed by God.
Europe has no problems with gay marriage because over there ALL COUPLES wanting to get married must be joined in a civil union at the court house for their union (marriage) to be legal. After the civil ceremony, the couple is free to have a religious ceremony performed at the church of their choice; the church ceremony is not the legal ceremony, the civil one is.
In our country, the church ceremony (marriage) is the legal one since priests and ministers are allowed to perform legal unions. We also have secular civil ceremonies.
In my mind, the solution to all of this is simple. Make civil unions the only legal unions and take away all legal powers to perform marriages away from priests and ministers. Churches would still perform religious marriage ceremonies but they would not have legal standing only religious standing; in this way, the issue of gay marriage would become a non issue.
I was also surprised to see that the Mormon Church which defeated the gay marriage proposal in California now endorsed an anti-discrimination proposal in Utah which allows gay partners to share in economic benefits now given only to married couples.
On the same topic, the Catholic Church in Washington, DC which provides social services to the poor under contract with the city said it will not be able to provide those services to gay couples once the city recognizes gay marriage even though it provides those same services to divorced and remarried couples which it also does not recognize.
As I see it, many people feel that gay committed couples do deserve to share in the benefits allotted to heterosexual couples but they gag at the idea of legalized gay marriage since to them the word marriage is a religious ceremony blessed by God.
Europe has no problems with gay marriage because over there ALL COUPLES wanting to get married must be joined in a civil union at the court house for their union (marriage) to be legal. After the civil ceremony, the couple is free to have a religious ceremony performed at the church of their choice; the church ceremony is not the legal ceremony, the civil one is.
In our country, the church ceremony (marriage) is the legal one since priests and ministers are allowed to perform legal unions. We also have secular civil ceremonies.
In my mind, the solution to all of this is simple. Make civil unions the only legal unions and take away all legal powers to perform marriages away from priests and ministers. Churches would still perform religious marriage ceremonies but they would not have legal standing only religious standing; in this way, the issue of gay marriage would become a non issue.
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