Marriage by Any Other Name

[torasama.livejournal.com]

While a rose may be a rose by any other name, the same does not hold true of marriage. Marriage is marriage. Civil unions are not equal to marriage, both in society's eyes and the law's - couples joined under a civil union do not have the same rights as a married couple. Denoting long-term, committed same-sex relations as 'lesser' opens a legal Pandora's box and provides a venue for continued discrimination, by applying a different set of rights to opposite-sex and same-sex couples.

To deny a civil marriage to a same-sex couple is blatant discrimination per the 14th Amendment. Just as the anti-interracial marriage arguement that all races had the "same right" to marry others of their own race didn't work in Loving vs. Virginia, the arguement that homosexuals have the "same right" to marry people of the opposite sex doesn't work, either.

Comments

Re: Let's argue the semantics

[prog-expat.livejournal.com]

I can't speak for the homosexuals, but most of your questions are a bit silly from even a heterosexual perspective.

"Who takes who's last name?"

My wife didn't take my last name or vice versa. She's still "Alvarez", I'm still "Yocom".

"Who is walked down the isle?"

We also got married in a spartan ceremony in the Salt Lake County Clerk's Office: Assistant County Clerk to officiate, two of my friends as witnesses, no guests. No aisles, and certainly nobody getting walked down them.

"Do both guys attend the batchlore party?
Do both women attend the batchlorette party?"

We also didn't have bachelor/bachelorette parties. I would assume gays might have two parties, just like many het. couples have separate bachelor and bachelorette parties.

"Do we call the married couple Mr and Mr? Mrs and Mrs?"

Yes