Post #7: Gay Marriage

[mattwade]

Yeah, I know I'm late on this, but I've been very busy in my personal and professional lives--staying in touch with family, working for Genewise, working at my paying job, etc. Anyway, I believe that homosexuality is a valid sexual orientation, and that the government and society at large should not hate and/or discriminate against anyone who is not heterosexual. Therefore, I believe that gay couples should be entitled to all of the rights, responsibilities and benefits bestowed upon straight couples. However, I support civil unions for homosexuals rather than marriages. Unfortunately, many marriages are religious by popular definition, and I'm not inclined to press for a change in that definition. Also, unfortunately, marriages offer more benefits than civil unions. True, some religious sects permit, accept, and even encourage homosexual relationships--but not all. Therefore, I propose that civil unions incorporate all of the benefits of marriages. Why do marriages offer more benefits to couples than civil unions, anyway? I'm aware of the added benefits provided by marriages, and I see no reason why they cannot be provided by civil unions. In a perfect world, all religions would welcome homosexuals with open arms and open hearts. But this is not a perfect world and never will be. And it would be too much to ask that churches no longer offer marriages in order to level the playing field, so to speak. So the bottom line is that local, state, and federal governments should offer civil unions to all homosexual couples that want them, and bestow upon these civil unions all of the benefits received by married heterosexual couples. And that's my humble opinion.

Sincerely,

M. Wade
Esquire