Since I was just commenting on separation of church and state, I think I should say (although I thought I already had...):

The Government should not deal in marriage at all. It should recognize civil unions, and they should be permissible between any two individuals. Marriage should be something recognized by the church alone, and should have no legal bearing or weight whatsoever. In fact a man connected in a civil union with another man should be allowed to get married under whatever religion to some woman. This would solve legal marriage issues with polygamy, homosexuality, etc.

Craigsub, I completely understand your position regarding a corporation then having to deal with extension of medical benefits. I find it hard to believe however, that straight men would enter into civil unions with other men just to offer them the umbrella of benefits. Let me qualify this, I don't think that is any more likely to occur than for a straight man to enter into a civil union with a woman to offer her the umbrella of benefits. Certainly marriages of convenience like this do occur under the current system. But it's unlikely (and I know "unlikely" is a fuzzy word) that the problem will become significantly worse if the government adopted this new policy. And what it will permit, is for a homosexual couple raising a family to have equal standing in society as a hetero couple.

One side effect that I would expect to see is that the adoption rate would increase. If the government permits the union of homosexuals with equal rights as heterosexuals, those unions may be more likely to adopt children so they can have a family. I know that a large portion of the hetero world, myself included, can't fully understand how it would be to be raised in a household like that. But it is still a perfectly viable household, with the same day to day concerns and expenses that any hetero household would have. Why should such a household be punished by unequal medical benefits or tax considerations?


[black]-"The further we go and older we grow, the more we know, the less we show."[/black]