Quote:I think that the whole problem regarding this issue comes down to one thing.  The term "marriage".  Both those on the left and the right want to "claim ownership" of the term, and neither side will budge.

 

There are those on the right that see the term "marriage" and think about the traditional (and sometimes religious) meaning of the word as being a union
between a man and a woman.

 

There are those on the left that see the term "marriage" and think about a union
between two people, regardless of sex.

 

So the terms "marry", "marriage" and "married" is really what the fight is all about.  The right doesn't want to give up the terms based on traditional and/or religious belief.  The left doesn't want to give the terms up based on "equality".

 

Now keep in mind, the term "marriage" has both a religious or traditional meaning as well as a legal meaning.  If a couple gets married (regardless if it's traditional or not) it must be recognized legally.  Even if you get married in a church, you still have to sign a legal
document to make it "official" in our country.

 

As it relates to this particular topic, a simple solution would be to call the legal document a "Civil Union License" rather than a "Marriage License".  Both sides are free to call such unions whatever they want, and the clerk would not be violating her belief by issuing a legal document for a Civil Union
.

Why make a separate definition? The term marriage has been around a very very long time and there are many historical precedents where it did not carry a religious or traditional meaning. 

 

In addition why are we picking and choosing which traditional definition to use? Some Mormons think traditional marriage is multiple wives. The simplest solution is, IMO to stop trying to keep people from marrying and if you still want to have a "traditional or religious" marriage no one is stopping you. The problem is the term marriage is like saying Q-tip. It's a ubiquitous word used for any types of unions. Why should the word be changed because some people are uncomfortable with two men or two women marrying? No one owns the word. 

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