There are actually several problems with this suggestion. The first is the time, energy, and effort required to make all of those changes. There is also the matter of the fact that many of those benefits are benefits provided by
private industries. The government has no authority to
demand that private industries change their policies to include social contract they do not wish to include. Now it could be argued that this would mean that these private industries could choose to not acknowledge "gay" marriage. However. in order to do this, would require them to change their policies to define in a way that the courts have already ruled, in 19 different cases, is unconstitutional, and discriminatory. Finally, the idea of the "civil union" runs afoul of the "separate but equal" restrictions that have already been determined are not constitutional. This final problem could of course be dealt with by simply removing marriage from the civil law altogether, and make civil unions the practice of the land for everyone. Good luck getting the Christians to agree to that.
3. It's not up to me but to the people in each state.
SURE, if they agree it is cheaper to allow gay marriage
then the people of that state can decide, either way.
Not up to me or to the govt to decide.
The people need to agree since religiously held beliefs are involved on both sides.
Either they agree to remove it from the state and revise all laws to be neutral
and refer to civil contracts and unions only independent of gender.
Or leave the laws as is and just open the door for this to
be applied or interpreted equally for any couple.
My point is the govt cannot be abused to force a decision on
the people without full public consent.
Actually, that's not true. The Supreme Court decided in 1967 under
Loving v Virginia that marriage to the person of one's own choosing is, in fact, a right of every citizen protected under the 14th amendment. It is on this precedent that many of these same-sex marriage bans are falling.
Because of religious freedom that the state cannot force
people to change and be under policies against their religious beliefs.
Both beliefs for and against gay marriage are equally valid.
the state has no right to judge this, thinking it's the same as
race when it isn't. The homosexuality and marriage issues
involve spiritual issues and beliefs the state has no jurisdiction over
except with the public's consent. We used to consent to marriage
laws under the state for convenience, but if that is not the case
anymore and people do not agree, then we have to change it
one way or the other, depending on what people in each state agree to do.
Not my place, I just believe in respecting all beliefs
equally and asking all people and states to support neutral policies for that reason.
You're making the same mistake that many on the right are making. you are conflating the
civil contract of marriage with the
religious ritual of a wedding.
You see, a marriage is a marriage whether the wedding ceremony is performed by the local parish preacher, the justice of the peace, or the Fake Elvis down at "Billy Bob's Wedding Emporium" on the Strip in Vegas. In the eyes of the law, those are all marriages. To have a marriage doesn't require a religious ceremony. It only requires a license, and someone recognized in your state as having the authority to officiate - and you can get this online in 5 minutes; no religious beliefs necessary.
Thanks again CZ for articulating
your reasons and replies so clearly,
which I hope compels others there to rise above the usual
rhetoric back and forth that fails to address the root issues.
No problem. I actually don't mind having this discussion with grown ups.
Hi Czernobog and Thanks again for your points
which I find essential if we are going to address all levels of this issue.
You are addressing the vital legal points
while I am also adding the reality of dealing with people's religious beliefs.
I understand that people will never agree to govt forcing them to change their beliefs.
But with the points you bring up, they have a choice of how much it will cost
to either accommodate their beliefs one way or another.
So you are right, the opposition should be informed of these costs and logistics involved
in order to make an educated choice in what direction to go.
The same way they cannot be expected to abandon their beliefs
neither can they expect the people including Christians in support of gay marriage to abandon theirs.
So either the policies must be separated, or they agree to accommodate.
Which way is it going to be?
If you give people this choice, and THEY decide they'd rather accommodate gay marriage
that is DIFFERENT from telling them their beliefs are wrong or need to be overridden by other people's beliefs.
I believe your approach will be more effective
rather than insulting people for their beliefs and threatening to
exclude one side or the other.
Why not just present the options and offer to the people
of each state to take on these costs and logistics if they
really really want to keep gay marriage out of the state.
Leave that choice to the people instead of assuming it for them, which causes resentment and rejection.
Fine, here's the to-do list....
NOTE: In the case of atheist lawsuits to remove crosses from public property,
in one case where preservationists raised money to buy the land and transfer it to private ownership to ersolve
the conflict, the lawyers for the atheist blocked that transaction claiming the state was still enabling the religious group.
But I disagreed: I believe it is proper to give the option to transfer a contested policy out of govt hands into private parties
if that will preserve religious freedom, prevent imposition on the public, and promote taking responsibility for one's own beliefs.
so if people really do not want to institutionalize gay marriage through the state,
then all contracts and laws should be reverted to neutral language.
I'm glad to see you spell this out,
and I believe this should be presented for all those lobbyists per state
to start working out plans to pay for all this if they really want to defend and exercise their religious freedom.
Thanks CZ