With this ring, I thee wed.
A friend and I were having a chat the other night, and she couldn't understand all the fuss over why gays want to get married. After all, it's just a ceremony and a piece of paper saying that X loves Y and vice-versa. What's so important about all the pomp and flare? Well, there's more to it than that.
Here's why we're making such a fuss over the marriage thing:
Exact numbers are hard to find right now, so I'm going to do my best to quote stats from memory. They may be off slightly or wildly. Also, most stats will be American because they're easier to find. Regardless of these facts, the spirit and meaning is there.
Dictionary (as I use the terms):
Marriage - The legal side of it. The little contract form that you sign that tells the government that these two people are a couple.
Civil union - An attempt at a middle-ground solution to the marriage debate. Gives most of the rights & such of marriage, but without calling it marriage.
Spouse - A person who is legally married
Partner - A person in a committed relationship, but not married.
1) Marriage grants the couple some 1000+ additional responsibilities, rights, and freedoms that common-law (or civil union) couples can't get.
Inheritance rights: When one spouse dies without a will, the other spouse gets everything. There have been cases where one partner in a gay couple dies, and the family (parents/siblings) of the deceased contested the will and either won or drew it out into a long legal battle, despite the fact that the couple had been devoted to each other for years.
Children: When married, it makes it easier for both spouses to have legal guardianship of all minor children. Decisions regarding schooling, medical issues, etc can then be made by both spouses. Also, if both spouses have legal guardianship, and one dies, then the other spouse doesn't need to fight to keep the child (as can happen).
Hospitals: When one spouse is in the hospital, the other can visit. There have been countless occasions where one gay partner is NOT allowed to visit their loved one simply because they weren't married, or because the ill person's family said that they can't. If the couple was married, then the spouse's wish to visit overrides the wishes of the family.
Also, if one spouse is unable to function because of illness or injury, then the other spouse can make medical and financial decisions on their behalf.
Courts of law: When married, one spouse cannot be forced to testify against the other.
2) Equality.
Q: What about civil unions? Aren't they enough?
A: No. A civil union grants some rights, but not all.
Q: What if we make it so that civil unions have the same rights as marriage?
A: Why have two names for the same thing? Why waste the time editing all the laws, papers, and licenses so that both sides are covered?
Also, forcing gays to accept the term 'civil union' simply because of the way they were born is another case of 'separate but equal'. One water fountain for the Blacks, and one for the Whites.
There are plenty of othe reasons, but these are the big ones.
Here's why we're making such a fuss over the marriage thing:
Exact numbers are hard to find right now, so I'm going to do my best to quote stats from memory. They may be off slightly or wildly. Also, most stats will be American because they're easier to find. Regardless of these facts, the spirit and meaning is there.
Dictionary (as I use the terms):
Marriage - The legal side of it. The little contract form that you sign that tells the government that these two people are a couple.
Civil union - An attempt at a middle-ground solution to the marriage debate. Gives most of the rights & such of marriage, but without calling it marriage.
Spouse - A person who is legally married
Partner - A person in a committed relationship, but not married.
1) Marriage grants the couple some 1000+ additional responsibilities, rights, and freedoms that common-law (or civil union) couples can't get.
Inheritance rights: When one spouse dies without a will, the other spouse gets everything. There have been cases where one partner in a gay couple dies, and the family (parents/siblings) of the deceased contested the will and either won or drew it out into a long legal battle, despite the fact that the couple had been devoted to each other for years.
Children: When married, it makes it easier for both spouses to have legal guardianship of all minor children. Decisions regarding schooling, medical issues, etc can then be made by both spouses. Also, if both spouses have legal guardianship, and one dies, then the other spouse doesn't need to fight to keep the child (as can happen).
Hospitals: When one spouse is in the hospital, the other can visit. There have been countless occasions where one gay partner is NOT allowed to visit their loved one simply because they weren't married, or because the ill person's family said that they can't. If the couple was married, then the spouse's wish to visit overrides the wishes of the family.
Also, if one spouse is unable to function because of illness or injury, then the other spouse can make medical and financial decisions on their behalf.
Courts of law: When married, one spouse cannot be forced to testify against the other.
2) Equality.
Q: What about civil unions? Aren't they enough?
A: No. A civil union grants some rights, but not all.
Q: What if we make it so that civil unions have the same rights as marriage?
A: Why have two names for the same thing? Why waste the time editing all the laws, papers, and licenses so that both sides are covered?
Also, forcing gays to accept the term 'civil union' simply because of the way they were born is another case of 'separate but equal'. One water fountain for the Blacks, and one for the Whites.
There are plenty of othe reasons, but these are the big ones.
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