Over the last week, people have been going crazy over same sex marriage and the definitions of marriage. It seems like many are confused about marriage as a civil matter vs. marriage as a religious matter. Marriage by law is a contract that two consenting ADULTS enter into. It is different from a religious marriage, which is done according to your religious beliefs.
I support the Supreme court decision on marriage equality, our country does not have an official religion and has many different sorts of people who inhabit it. All of our citizens are to be treated equally in the eyes of the law, to deny same sex couples the right to marry is logically unconstitutional. So if you ask me my view on legally allowing same sex couples to marry, I'm for it.
That's not to say that I don't support the church/religious groups right to not perform a marriage ceremony. I can only speak about the Catholic sacrament of marriage since that is what I am familiar with. I know other religious groups have their own ceremonies but I am not familiar with them and cannot speak for them. The Catholic church does not marry two people of the same sex, nor will the supreme court decision affect the church's ability to deny a marriage ceremony to same sex couples. Church's are not government entities, all this paranoia about forcing priests to perform ceremonies in their church is unwarranted. Civil marriage is NOT a sacrament.
People who work for the government and give marriage licenses to the public DO have to issue them. If you feel it conflicts with your religious views you are free to leave your job. As a government employee, you CANNOT impose your religious views on others. Divorce is also something that goes against people's religions but if you tried to deny a divorcee a marriage license, you would be sued. The same goes for people of different religious beliefs, those who do not believe in religion and same sex partners. You cannot refuse to issue them a marriage license, point blank.
Another issue that was raised was allowing child brides/grooms and polygamous marriage. Well, I'm going to put your mind at ease. Children are not able to consent to contracts or enter into them. Civil marriages require two consenting ADULTS. Which means children are automatically out of this equation, and since our current law states that civil marriage is a contract between two consenting adults, it does not allow for marriages between three, four, five (I'm sure you get the point) persons.
Personally, I find it odd that it took this long to legalize same sex marriage and hopefully this will help distinguish the separation between our government and religion. Religion has no place in government, civil marriage is a legal matter. To those who say we are a Christian nation, please review your knowledge in US History and what our founding fathers stood for and believed. You'll be surprised to learn that they never envisioned us as a "Christian Nation".
Congrats to my friends who are now able to marry and enjoy the benefits that legally come with that contract.
