Solution to gay marriage issue?

The Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson spoke at the summer lyceum in Peterborough NH on sunday 8/16, lecture entitled, "Being Spiritual While Living in the Eye of the Storm". Solution to the gay marriage issue? To paraphrase from hearsay (from my wife, who moderated the event): Make all marriages in this country be civil unions, with the option of additionally having a religious ceremony. Since the process requires legal documentation and state licensing, the official piece is in fact a civil union.

Apparently, France does this. My take is that the religious component has become so hybridized with our country's pluralistic makeup, that the ceremonies have become inconstant compared to a simple civil union.

According to Wiki, "Robinson is widely known for being the first openly gay, non-celibate priest to be ordained a bishop in a major Christian denomination believing in the historic episcopate."

Lecture at the Unitarian Universalist Church in Peterborough, NH can probably be streamed at broadcast time 8/22 at NHPR (New Hampshire Public Radio)

http://www.nhpr.org/node/9518

When people gripe about religion being involved in who can marry... legally, it's not. A marriage performed by a justice of the peace--or for that matter, a ship's captain--is just as legit as one performed by a priest.

And what do you call people who have the formalities performed by a judge or other authorized public official? As you say, you call them "married", not "civil unionioned" A marriage is a marriage whether it is solemnized by a judge or a member of the clergy. If certain religious bigots and others don't like that, f 'em

:rofl:

Really, the eye of the storm is the calm place.

We need to have marriage be what it really is, terms aside: a union between two consenting adults for the purpose of defining a legal, federally recognized family unit with all of its attendant responsibilities and rights, and of joining and managing the disposition of assets and mutual fiscal responsibility.

That's it. States rights have no part in it unless you accept the state as a fully active third participant in your marriage, usually in non-traditional role of fucking you, figuratively speaking. Straight people don't, and we shouldn't.

And the solution is, not surprisingly, civil unions for all!

You know, when black people were finally legally allowed to marry white people, I never learned that people were going around saying that it shouldn't be called "marriage".

:sarcasm:

Seriously, I don't mean to piss on your post, but this gets posted all the time by people who think they've had an original thought and see this as a "solution." Marriage is ALREADY a civil contract in the eyes of the state. That's what we queers want! We want the civil contract of marriage. Straight people will never go for civil unions, and it will give the fundies even more ammunition: "See, we told you them queers was trying to destroy marriage!!!"