Delving Deeper... Why you should care about Gay Marital Rights?What if the tables were turned? What if gays were in power and decided
that heterosexual couples could not be married? In the past it has been
inter-racial couples. In other countries it remains inter-faith
couples, or inter-caste couples. So what if it were you whose rights
were denied, because of a belief that government has the authority to
determine matters whose arguments emanate from theology rather than
legal principle, or simply from traditional divisions between people
that are arbitrary, or based on a belief or bias that certain
categories of people are superior to others? You are unable to obtain
legal protection or equal status for your relationship with people in
certain other demographic categories. How would you feel?
But
I'm part of the traditional marriage class, you argue. And we say,
thank God, or the stars, or blind luck for that. And we go on to say,
what happens if the balance of power shifts in your lifetime, or that
of your children or grandchildren and suddenly some other group becomes
dominant and defines you or your children out of the marriage class?
"But
my church teaches that marriage is defined as always being between a
man and a woman," you argue. And that's fine, we say. So why wouldn't
you want the government out of it and leave it up to your church to
decide for you and your faith community, and let my church or
synagogue, or mosque, or spiritual community decide for me.
Under
our plan, we'd go to the city hall to get a certificate of civil union,
and then we'd get married in our house of worship according to the
spiritual criteria that comes from that tradition. Isn't that fair?