Prop 8 proposal, marraige for none civil unions for all leave marriage for the church

[e-brake]

Interesting concept:
http://littlecog.com/2008/11/12/an-o...rriage-rights/

Since I live in metropolitan San Francisco, I can’t throw a stick without hitting a “No on prop 8″ sign. With California’s shiny new constitutional amendment banning gay marriage I’ve been faced with a conundrum. On one hand: “Marriage”, as a term, means very specific things to very specific people. Some of them are quite upset about it being co-opted by those of the same sex wishing to ratify and validate their union. While I don’t agree with these folks, being a real conservative means not telling other people what to do or how to live their lives.
On the other hand: the 14th amendment to the US Constitution is pretty clear on this subject:

No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.

Equal protection under the laws. That’s the tricky bit. If there’s one thing we learned from the civil rights movement is that separate but equal does not work. I would love to grant gay and lesbian couples “civil unions” and be done with the issue. Sadly, it’s simply not enough. We cannot grant some couples the right to marry while revoking it from others if we’re to follow the tenets of the 14th amendment. (We’ll leave the subjects of fairness and decency for another time.)
The Solution?
No state or government entity should issue “marriage” licenses at all. Instead, marriages for none, civil unions for all. It creates a system of equal protection under the law.
If religious organizations wish to protect their views on the sanctity of marriage, they may do so outside the realm of Government. If gay couples wish to marry and create a family, they may also do this outside the realm of Government. Governments are not moral entities…they are simply not equipped to tell us right from wrong. (I’m sure I’ll write at length about this subject at a later point)
I submit to you that the constitutional amendment should, if it were written by actual conservatives instead of obnoxious theocratic folks, have said something to the effect of “The State of California shall issue no licenses of marriage. Instead, all unions between men or woman shall be considered “Civil Unions” and be given equal standing under the law”
There, that wasn’t so hard now was it?

[Dionysos]

This may be the worst thread title on DDM since Matias got deported to Iowa.

[Sinner]

I think we should ban divorce since it's bad for marriage.

[-m-]

An editorial in the DMN summed it up best (can't recall the author atm). If you don't approve, don't send a wedding gift. Marriage is marriage is marriage.