New Hampshire Senate Approves Gay Marriage Bill

[seamusnh]

Originally Posted by GregW

PS - Impuning that I indulge in beastiality is getting very close to slander. Be very careful.

What GregW does in the privacy of his own home or barn is up to him. The government does not want to interject itself into his personal life. Should he want to marry an animal, then the government would be involved....

[fishnfool]

Just because that person chooses not to, is not discriminatory.

If that's the case, why would banning interracial marriage be discriminatory? They can still get married if they choose to correct?

[seamusnh]

Originally Posted by BF66389

A horse/chicken cannot give consent.

I imagine bestiality advocates (they are right in line after the gay marriage advocates, polygamists, NAMBLA, etc.) would argue that the animal has the choice of leaving and therefore is giving consent by not running away. I am sure they'd have some smart lawyer who would help them work the system....

[fishnfool]

Why is so hard for people to check a dictionary for the meaning of the word "marriage"? Why is it so hard for people to realized that the definition of marriage in 37 states and at the Federal level is one man and one woman of legal age? Why is it so hard for people to accept simple things like the meaning of a word?

When did Webster's become the law of the land? I didn't realize that was the governing body of the US.

The problem is that the meaning of a word, any word, means different things to different people. Simply look at the current debate on what is torture for illustration.

You are arguing definitions. I am arguing equal rights for all consenting adults. You can call it whatever you want but the word "marriage" is irrelevant.....the fact that the government honors contracts (in this case, called marriage) between two consenting adults differently based on gender and sexual orientation is the real issue.

Like I said, let the government issue civil unions, let your church issue marriages.

[seamusnh]

Originally Posted by fishnfool

When did Webster's become the law of the land? I didn't realize that was the governing body of the US.

OK, go with the "law of the land". In 37 states, the state constitutions state that marriage is a man and a woman. At the federal level, they do not recognize anything other than one man and one woman. Check the Defense of Marriage Act signed into law in 1996.

As for the other 13 states, it is amazing that anyone would think that those who wrote the constitution would have thought they'd need to define the word marriage which has always meant one man and one woman.

This has nothing to do with religion. Marriage is a legal term in the United States.