Originally posted by Kremithefrog:
Like FMR said, so maybe a guy and two chicks should be able to marry then? I mean come on, it's not you, so why does it matter. We have to have certain things certain ways. We're not killing gay people or stealing their property, they're just not allowed to marry.


For the same reason a Mormon guy can't marry two women today in Utah - it's against the law; a law that would be applied indiscriminately if gays were free to marry.

Same thing applies to two brothers, underage kids, a brother and sister etc; it is nonsensical to suggest that ending discrimination against gays opens the path to other forms of marriage that are currently against the law - no one is suggesting that these laws be overturned.

The difficulty is that the term "marriage" applies to both a civil union (civil, as in civil rights) and the religious ceremony and both are rooted in history.

The term "civil union" simply doesn't exist in any legalistic way (you don't go to city hall to apply for a civil union license), so gays right now have no other way to express their wish, but to demand the right to marry.