The End of Marriage as We Know it. (And that's OK)

Two California college students, who are supporters of gay marriage, have begun collecting signatures for a ballot measure that would repeal the ban on gay marriage, and strike the word "marriage" from all California laws. It would be replaced by the term "domestic partnership," and would apply to all unions of couples, regardless of gender.

Of course, The Defenders of Marriage (tm) are up in arms about this. Their primary argument against allowing same-sex couples the same rights as heterosexual couples is this: "Societies through the ages have considered marriage to be a relationship between a man and a woman that forms the cornerstone of families and the ideal place for having and raising children."

There are two obvious errors in this type of thinking: 1.) Using the past history of the world to determine what is right and what is wrong is inherently faulty. "Society" has been wrong about many things over the years. (See: powered flight, astronomy, witchcraft, chemical properties, and disease control for starters) and 2.) A combination of any man and any woman is not necessarily the "ideal place for having and raising children." Some men and some women are ideal parents, while others are not. We can all agree that it takes a combination of male and female sexual organs to actually produce children, but raising them is another matter entirely. Why would a child raised by a gay or lesbian couple with proper love, affection, and instruction be less likely to have a positive life outcome than one raised by an abusive, neglectful, or drug-addicted hetero couple? No proponent of man/woman only marriage has been able to answer that question.

Now, let's consider the institution of marriage in a broader context--does marriage have an actual positive impact on society at large? We know that it can have a negative impact on individuals because of the large numbers of abused spouses and children throughout the world. On the other hand, research has shown that a stable marriage has positive economic outcomes for families, but there's no evidence for a causal relationship between marriage and positive social outcomes. (There is, however, a correlation between marriage and some positive outcomes.) Furthermore, there's absolutely no evidence that a marriage between adults of the same sex produces negative outcomes.

OK, we've crushed the arguments against...now what should we actually do about this marriage/domestic partnership thing? The solution is simple: leave "marriage" to the churches, and States and Federal government can allow everyone to have a "civil union," or "domestic partnership," with all of the associated rights. In the US of A, we have this thing called a "Constitution" which is supposed to guarantee rights to all citizens, not a select few, or even a majority who feel the same way...all. So, anyone and everyone can have a civil contract that helps protect property rights and proper financial support for its members. There is an obstacle to this, however, the Defense of Marriage Act. This piece of legislation should have already been struck down by the Supreme Court, but it continues to exist, despite it being in clear violation of Section One of the Fourteenth Amendment:

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." (emphasis added)

Allowing individual States to re-define marriage is not the answer. Governments should not be in the business of marriage, period. It's an institution with direct ties to religion, and it should remain that way, separate from government.

People who want to have a marriage sanctified by their god of choice should head on down to the church, mosque, or temple and have a ceremony. Their church can define a marriage any way they want to, and exclude those who don't agree. In the meantime, people should mind their own business and stop trying to legislate their morality(no matter how popular) on everyone else. This country remains great because we can all have our own values, without infringing upon others.