Congratulations to Shannon Sickles and Grainne Close the first gay couple in the UK to have a civil partnership ceromony. It's not a wedding, gay and lesbian couples still cannot marry in this country.
I can't understand why this right should be denied to same sex couples. OK so most religious groups claim that marriage should be only be between a man and a woman but no one will be forcing the churches to hold or bless the civil partnerships or host gay marriages. But in a country that is now almost completely secular why should the religous right seek to ensure that the gay couples are denied any access to marriage. Marriage has not been the sole preserve of the churches for a long time now with the option of civil weddings being there.
The bigots claim that allowing gays to marry will damage the institute of marriage. How? I for one, am not going to suddenly change my mind about being hetrosexual just because civil partnerships are now legal and I don't think many other people are either. If marriage is about two people who want to make a public commitment to each other then surely the more people who can marry the stronger the concept will be.
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I am very much a "whatever rocks their boat" sort of person and thought that this was a very progressive thing but, I had to raise a smirk when reading about the solicitor who thought this was great [for business]. He said he looked forward to help these people with their civil divorces after they realise the novelty has all worn off but they are stuck in a legal relationship.
ReplyDeleteGraeme
I totally agree Jane, surely the religious should be pleased that more people want to marry?
ReplyDeleteBut then its like the old argument that they often trot out that gays and lesbians are all immoral people with hedanistic lifestyles who can't sustain a long term relationship. They use that argument in one breath, but in the next refuse them the right to make a long term committment by allowing them to marry.
Who needs logic (or compassion)?
Erm....
ReplyDeletehttp://t-girlselinamorse.blogspot.com/2005/12/gay-marriages.html
Please don't tar us all with the same brush.
Selina - I was going to link you your post when I got home as an example of how most all Christians and churches are not like Ian Paisley's crowd, but you beat me to it.
ReplyDeleteGraeme - Lawyers can see a way to make money from almost everything.
ReplyDeleteKarol - I would agree with you but not all religious people are bigotted against homosexuals.
The same ruckus is raised here in the States about this subject.
ReplyDeleteI for one favor a policy of telling holy rollers to sit and spin. Like you said, nobody is telling churches what to do. Churches would be allowed to not marry anyone couple for any reason - the church and state are seperated.
I see this as a civil rights issue. Equal rights for all means just that - equal rights for ALL.
The idea that gay marriage is a threat to man-woman marriage is laughable, when so many marriages end in divorce anyway.
I am who I am, and gay marriage will not change that. I am not going to start dating dudes just because two guys can get hitched, but I am not going to stand in the way of two dudes wanting to get married either. Live and let live.
The whole church-and-marriage thing always makes me laugh. (And don't start me on Big Ian and his lot, I had enough runs in with them while growing up.)
ReplyDeleteAs marriage as love has only been recently endorsed by the church, an almost Victorian invention. (The original point was for succession, in fact, the church explicitly said not to be marrying for love.)
Oh, wait, we are talking about gay marriage. Meh, youse have all said what I would have said anyhow. Though I do find it funny that it happened first in Belfast. It is usually twenty years behind the mainland in *everything*.
Sorry, I really didn't phrase that earlier comment very well at all.
ReplyDeleteIt really wasn't my intention to make a sweeping statement about those who practice religions, but unfortunatly thats exactly what I did.
Apologies once again.
Note to self, reread before hitting "publish".