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In reply to the discussion: Hello, DU. I am a libertarian. [View all]R.Quinn
(122 posts)"Marriage", as recognized by the State, is really a legal partnership. You have to get a license (i.e. State permission) to enter into said partnership. Thus, we have now established this to be a State-instituted partnership in which the State gives out benefits and protections to those in legal partnerships in exchange for granting the State jurisdiction over your partnership. Why should these partnerships be limited to heterosexual couples? I would argue that they shouldn't be limited in that way, and should in fact be extended to homosexual couples as well.
"Marriage", as recognized by the Bible, is something completely different. It is a holy covenant before God between a man and a woman. By this definition, the government has no say in the matter, because I do not need the States permission to participate in something which God instituted. However, most couples choose to go ahead and get the state's "permission" to marry anyway, which is their choice.
So you see, these are two completely different definitions of what a "marriage" is. Just because I personally believe the latter definition to be the correct one does not mean that the State should single out heterosexual couples when giving out legal privileges.
I hope all this makes sense. It's a matter of semantics. Again, I fully believe that homosexual couples should be given all the same legal benefits afforded to heterosexual couples.