SSM IS NOT A SPECIAL RIGHT: James Hanley

...There are two arguments against same-sex marriage, one religious and one legal. Both are wrong.

Religious opposition to same-sex marriage is based on a confusion of the sacred and the secular. The claim is made that marriage is a religious sacrament that would be defiled by same-sex marriage. The confusion occurs because the word marriage refers to two related, but ultimately separate, things. One is a sacred relationship consecrated by God. The other is a legal relationship sanctioned by the state. ...

The legal argument against same-sex marriage says that we are granting special rights, because gays currently have the same rights as straights. A gay man may legally marry a woman, and a gay woman may marry a man. But the right to same-sex marriage would be equally broad: A straight man could marry another man, and a straight woman could marry another woman. Legally, there's nothing special about the right to same-sex marriage, because it's no more restricted to one group than heterosexual marriage is.

Granted, straight men and straight women aren't likely to find happiness in a same-sex marriage, so this right would be of little benefit to them. But the traditional marriage right is likewise of no benefit to gay men and women. Essentially, they are deprived of the right to enter into a loving and fulfilling marriage with the attendant legal rights and responsibilities.

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posted by Eve at 1:43 PM VOTE

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