Reply #3: I Have Long Said [View All]

[GiovanniC]

That the religious institution of marriage and the legal institution of marriage should be kept separate. Religions can discriminate. Governments cannot.

A civil union or legal marriage is simply a contract, when you get right down to it. It is an agreement between two parties to enter into a joint venture of legal rights and responsibilities, including joint property ownership and tax benefits.

The other stuff -- love, sex, children, et cetera -- that's up to the people who enter the contract. You don't have to love someone, or have sex with them, or have children to get married. There are no laws requiring "love" as a prerequisite for marriage.

The government should give people the right to enter into this contract whether they are gay or straight. If people want to assign further religious meaning to it, then they should coordinate that with their respective church.