Quote: What they want(have gotten) has little similarity to marriage as it WAS.
Have gotten?
In Hawaii maybe, that's it. Homosexual still can't get legally married anywhere else in this country.
Quote: I distictly remember my vows including "we are gathered here together UNDER GOD"..fairly typical in a Christian wedding. Not all weddings are Christian but short of the quick trip to Vegas or a Justice of the peace a religious reference is typical.
Gay weddings have those same things too, ya know.
There's lots of Christian homosexuals; very devout ones some of them. And they can get married in a great many churches (and no, I'm not talking about some little tiny made-up ones either).
Quote: The lack of religion in marriage is not solely responsible for the degradation of the insitution but may be a component. Basic Religious values tend to be a good thing in marriage.
What, do you think gays don't have religious values?
Quote: I understand what the ruling was, I am only stating that marriage has changed alot in recent years, and generally not for the better. Not the fault of gays certainly but the recent ruling certainly doesn't help the institution IMO.
You're comparing a religious marriage to a legal marriage -- two totally different things.
Homosexuals have always been able to get a religious marriage. They just needed to find a priest (or whomever) willing to do so. Something not very difficult.
Now they want a legal marriage. And there's certainly more than "tax and insurance breaks" that go along with marriage; especially since until very recently you took a tax penalty to get married, and many insurance companies already respect the 'marriage' of 2 same-sex individuals.
They've always been able to get married in the eyes of God. Anybody can marry anyone or anything and do that. Now they want to get married in the eyes of Uncle Sam, with all the benefits (not many) and legal detriments (a lot)that go along with it.
What's so bad about that?
You want to talk about degradation of marriage and family life, consider the fact that homosexuals are allowed to have partners, get religiously married, and even have children, These people want to be married, for all intents and purposes they are married, have some of the best relationships with themselves and their children that I've ever seen, but they can't get a piece of paper that says their married by the state.
Meanwhile, there's 10s of millions of heterosexuals you are married, don't want to be, and their children suffer because of it.
