What's in a name?
Okay. I've talked about this a lot, I know, but I'm tired and waiting for my brother's chef clothes to finish in the dryer so here I go.
S, beat me if I'm not remembering this right. When asked about it, Biden said he believed in equal rights for gay people, gay couples included. He made a comment about not wanting to go near the meaning of the word marriage. Palin agreed that they should have the equal rights but that she (and Biden, because she knows sooo much) doesn't support gay 'marriage.'
What I want to know is...is what's making this such an issue that word? Marriage? Whatever the government decides to dress it up as, that's what it'll be. Connotation is such a powerful thing. If you see two people of the same gender with rings on their fingers, are you going to think "hey, they got civil unioned"? No, they're married, and that's how they're going to describe themselves (unless they personally don't like it being called marriage, I've heard that out there a couple of times). In those little ticky boxes on the forms you have to fill out for various things they will check the married one under marital status.
On the other side of the coin, no matter what you call it or how you present it, the anti-gay marriage people will never see a gay marriage/civil union/etc as equal to theirs in a personal sense. Any time you mention it as marriage they'd be right there saying "but it's not a real marriage, is it now?"
So what I'm trying to say is...all this fighting over the definition of a word is so senseless. I see what the anti-gay marriage lot is about, sure. They want people to think that a 'marriage' is better than a 'civil union.' I see what the pro-gay marriage lot is saying, too. Why does it have to be called something different when it's the same thing?
It's going to be what YOU make it to be. As long as the rights are there, as long as the laws are in place and enforced (which is going to be half the battle, I just know it), it's equal. Don't let a group of people so threatened and weak that they have to be forced to word games to get their way ruin what you want for your future and the future of your friends.
I actually went to anti-gay marriage sites to figure it out. My head hurts so badly right now. None of it makes sense to me, none.
But hey, even if you don't read behind the cut, at least read this: Obama, McCain, and families like mine
It's about gay rights in general but especially pertaining to the family/parenting and children issues. It's an informative read.
S, beat me if I'm not remembering this right. When asked about it, Biden said he believed in equal rights for gay people, gay couples included. He made a comment about not wanting to go near the meaning of the word marriage. Palin agreed that they should have the equal rights but that she (and Biden, because she knows sooo much) doesn't support gay 'marriage.'
What I want to know is...is what's making this such an issue that word? Marriage? Whatever the government decides to dress it up as, that's what it'll be. Connotation is such a powerful thing. If you see two people of the same gender with rings on their fingers, are you going to think "hey, they got civil unioned"? No, they're married, and that's how they're going to describe themselves (unless they personally don't like it being called marriage, I've heard that out there a couple of times). In those little ticky boxes on the forms you have to fill out for various things they will check the married one under marital status.
On the other side of the coin, no matter what you call it or how you present it, the anti-gay marriage people will never see a gay marriage/civil union/etc as equal to theirs in a personal sense. Any time you mention it as marriage they'd be right there saying "but it's not a real marriage, is it now?"
So what I'm trying to say is...all this fighting over the definition of a word is so senseless. I see what the anti-gay marriage lot is about, sure. They want people to think that a 'marriage' is better than a 'civil union.' I see what the pro-gay marriage lot is saying, too. Why does it have to be called something different when it's the same thing?
It's going to be what YOU make it to be. As long as the rights are there, as long as the laws are in place and enforced (which is going to be half the battle, I just know it), it's equal. Don't let a group of people so threatened and weak that they have to be forced to word games to get their way ruin what you want for your future and the future of your friends.
I actually went to anti-gay marriage sites to figure it out. My head hurts so badly right now. None of it makes sense to me, none.
But hey, even if you don't read behind the cut, at least read this: Obama, McCain, and families like mine
It's about gay rights in general but especially pertaining to the family/parenting and children issues. It's an informative read.