Actually, they do

Post #108,063 by jb4 7/1/03 1:34:36 PM Reply	Actually, they do Ever participated in a wedding performed by a Justice of the Peace? Absolutely no religion there, Chris, yet it is every bit as legal and as binding a wedding as would be performed by your [insert favorite religious "officer" here]. In several states (including, ironically, Tejas), common-law marriages are considered legal and binding. Not even so much as a ceremony, yet the union must be broken up by a divorce decree, the partners share the responsibilities and privileges bestowed upon married people, etc. "Holy Matrimony" is merely a term for the Dearly Beloved Gathered Here Before Me.... Marriage is a state of being imbued by the state, not a religious title. The fact that you can be married by a religious 'officer" is mererly a convenience borne (again) from Common Law. jb4 "We continue to live in a world where all our know-how is locked into binary files in an unknown format. If our documents are our corporate memory, Microsoft still has us all condemned to Alzheimer's." Simon Phipps, SUN Microsystems
Post #108,805 by cwbrenn 7/9/03 8:58:09 AM Reply	If JotP ceremonies were TRULY "not religious" then there would be nothing stopping a gay couple from being married by one. My point is that even in the "not religious" ceremonies there is still a firmly rooted understanding that what is being performed is the judeo-christian marriage rite, only with the name of God taken out. And it's stupid. There is no reason that a gay couple shouldn't be able to enter into a legally recognized, tax-deductable union recognized by the state, with all legal protections thereof, and there's also no reason a church should feel that their specific understanding of what marriage is must be dictated by the state. Therefore, the state needs to get out of the marriage business. Don't call it marriage, call it something else entirely, and make it a contract willingly entered between two people that gives you the tax bracket. And just leave it at that. "We are all born originals -- why is it so many of us die copies?" - Edward Young
Post #108,809 by drewk 7/9/03 9:19:06 AM Reply	Just don't call it a "civil union" On the radio this morning, I heard various groups who were speaking out against proposed changes in government employee insurance coverage which would recognize civil unions. Two religious "leaders" pointed out how they could attest to the "spiritual, emotional and frequently physical harm" that often comes out of non-married cohabitation. They used this as "proof" that same-sex couples shouldn't be allowed to marry. If you think this sounds like circular reasoning, you are correct. It was actually more blatant in the original than what I recalled here. === Implicitly condoning stupidity since 2001.
Post #109,324 by jb4 7/11/03 5:27:55 PM Reply	Except... If JotP ceremonies were TRULY "not religious" then there would be nothing stopping a gay couple from being married by one. Nothing except, of course, state laws proscribing them.... jb4 "We continue to live in a world where all our know-how is locked into binary files in an unknown format. If our documents are our corporate memory, Microsoft still has us all condemned to Alzheimer's." Simon Phipps, SUN Microsystems
Post #108,919 by Ashton 7/9/03 5:19:29 PM Reply	Hell, I can marry youse .. in my capacity as a Reverend in the Universal Life Church (done it 3x now). Haven't been asked to do a same-sex intertwining though. Ashton Life is.. TragiComedy
Post #109,325 by jb4 7/11/03 5:29:03 PM Reply	Sorry, Ash...you're not my type.... jb4 "We continue to live in a world where all our know-how is locked into binary files in an unknown format. If our documents are our corporate memory, Microsoft still has us all condemned to Alzheimer's." Simon Phipps, SUN Microsystems
Post #109,329 by Ashton 7/11/03 6:06:45 PM Reply	Give 'em a freebie and__someone'll rush through the crack

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