R
Ridgerunner
Guest
The Constitution says nothing about homosexual marriage, and it’s absurd to suggest that the Framers intended that the laws of the U.S. or any state enshrine it. Even civil unions are questionable, since every right conferred by “civil unions” can be obtained without state sponsorship (thus endorsement) of homosexual relationships, EXCEPT conferring certain rights (like pension rights, for instance) that the enactments creating them never intended to apply to homosexual relationships.As Americans we should support the equal and just application of the law to all citizens. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter what any one church teaches, because civil rights cannot be taken by a majority vote. This is why Prop 8 is being challenged in court. The rights of the minority are protected from the will of the majority by the Constitution. This is a prime example of why religion has no place in government.
Some thought ought to be given to the violence done to language in some of these movements. “Marriage” has always meant the sanctioned union of a man and a woman. I have seen courts redefine other terms like “family” to mean something the word never meant and few would imagine even now. Violence is done even to the word “rights”. Rights guaranteed where? In the laws of the Church? The Constitution? The Common Law? Where?
Words should have particular meanings, especially if those meanings strongly impact society, and most especially terms that have legal significance beyond their meaning in ordinary conversation.