Maybe before we have any more ballot initiatives on the question of preserving or defending marriage, we should define what exactly it is that is being defended.
Marriage; what is it & do we need it? Obviously the argument that it is needed to procreate is, uh, quaint. People find ways around the "love & marriage" paradigm & they have certainly found that they don't need to be in a wedded state, to create or raise children. Actually this has been going on for centuries moderated by varying degrees of shame. We've lost many elements of that shame. That's not a bad thing per se.
This is such a frustrating issue to me. I don't see the power of the label - "married." I see happily settled in couples of the same sex & I see very unhappy married hetero couples. Tack on a few kids & you can see the same phenomena.
We are all different people, no? Our integrity & our character determine how & who we love from childhood to dotage. I tend to believe relationships define themselves & that slapping a label on them can never do them justice. Is it really important enough to tear our homes, families & communities apart over? Man, I just do not see it. Call your relationship sacred or shotgun or common-law or significant other. I don't care because it's none of my business.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
Mindin' other people's business seems to be high-toned
I got all that I can do just to mind my own
Why don't you mind your own business
(Mind your own business)
If you mind your own business, you'll stay busy all the time.
I guess I'd like to see both engraved on government buildings.