Solving The Gay Marriage Debate

I'm really tired of this gay marriage thing. Both sides are wrong, for different reasons, and the solution - for those who are logical and sane - is really quite simple.

First, let's lay out the sides of the debate. On one side we have those who believe (correctly) marriage is a sacred religious rite (not a civil right) and that homosexuality is an abomination. Therefore, allowing gays to "marry" would violate their basic beliefs and they believe it would lessen the importance of their own marriage by making it less relevant to their religion. It's kinda like a million bucks - if only hard-working entrepeneurs can become millionaires, it is something rather special. But if everyone has a million, suddenly being a millionaire has no significance. Christians do not want to make their marriage less significant. 

On the other side you have those who believe gays should be able to marry so they can have all the same legal rights as hetero couples. There is a third side, but we'll save that for last, mostly because it is not a legitimate argument. This solution would protect the religious sanctity of marriage and still provide equal legal rights and protections for any adult couple choosing to be in a life partnership. 

Here goes... First, give marriage back to the church from whence it came, and stop allowing the state to co-opt it just so they can place controls on it and charge fees for licenses. The government had no legal authority to inject themselves into a religios rite in the first place (see the 1st Amendment).

Next, make civil unions equal to marriage in every legal sense, with all the same rights, privileges and protections. The ONLY difference would be that a marriage is a union sanctioned (presumably) by God while a civil union is a union sanctioned by the state. 

Third, religious people who want to unite as life partners in the eyes of their God may do so in their church, provided the church agrees. This shall be called "marriage" - union in the sight of God. 

For everyone else, whether heterosexual or homosexual, or anyone not religious enough to want to unite in a church ceremony, they would be united in a civil union of equal strength as a marriage, and the ceremony would be held before a state official (i.e. Justice of the Peace). Upon completion of the ceremony the couple would be wedded. All couples, regardless of gender or preference would be able to legally unite in in a civil union that bestows all rights of marriage without being a religious rite. Heterosexual couples could unite in either a civil union or a religious one (marriage). Both forms on unification would be equal. But they would not be the same. The only difference would be the inclusion or exclusion of God on the guest list, and whether you are 'married' or 'wedded'.

Frankly, if you look at it with honest eyes, any union made outside a church and performed by a civil servant is nothing more than a civil union, anyway. Equality, then, is the issue and the solution. The name of the ceremony (wedding or marriage) would be chosen according to whether the union takes place in, or outside of, a church. And whether a church chooses to officiate in a marriage would be up to the church in question, as the government has no say in religion. If a church is willing to perform the ceremony for gays, that is up to that church. Simple.

The problem arises because some people are not really interested in either the issue or the solution, and it is from them that the trouble comes. They are the agitators. These people have an agenda - they want to create a socialist society, a society in which almost anything goes - legalized drugs, child porn - you name it, they want it legalized. But they can never accomplish their goal as long as America is predominantly religious, which provides a moral compass against such behavior. So, they must minimalize religion, and eradicate it from the public square. These are the same people who force the 10 Commandments out of the public arena; outlaw prayer every place they can; and even have Christmas decorations made illegal. For those people - socialists with an evil agenda - it is not about gay marriage. It is about destroying Christianity. You can tell who they are - they do not want "equality" - they want MARRIAGE. 

And if you watch these people long enough you will discover they are the same people behind anything anti-Christian. For the rest of us, we simply want the issue resolved fairly. I think we should ignore the trouble-making socialists and just demand that our lawmakers follow a simple plan like the one laid out, above. It may not be perfect, but it is fair, just and does solve the issue of equality. Because "equal" does not mean "same". Things can be different, yet equal. And this is one of those things. Men and women are different, yet should be equal. Thank God they are not the SAME!

 

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