Many people are concerned about the long-term societal effects of altering the definition of marriage, so I thought it would be useful to put my two cents out there with this little discussion. Marriage has been used for many purposes at various times and places: to get money and land, to consolidate political power, to control behavior, to ensure good breeding. What we are defending as "traditional marriage" is neither very old nor very widely practiced in the world. If it is God's definition, then he either has changed his mind a lot over time or he has just recently started to care about enforcing it. In any case, the main motivations for same sex couples wanting marriage equality are not religious, but legal, financial, and social. We are willing that homosexual people should put themselves in harm's way defending our country in the military, serving in law enforcement, or protecting people as fire fighters or EMTs. We accept their tax dollars. We require they
The well-phrased, grammatically correct, occasionally thoughtless ravings of a linguaphile.