Reply #7: They are two different things

[Gman]

How people file to conduct a business is different from how people conduct their personal business and has nothing to do with hospitalization, survivor benefits, etc.

When you file to go into business with someone else, you file a joint partnership. That gives you, as a business, the ability to share assets and liabilities, income and expenses. The business pays taxes on your joint behalf. You run the business and do what you want however you want as long, of course, as it's legal. The state doesn't care one iota about the sexual orientation of any partner in the business.

Just as a business, when two people get a marriage license, get married, and the license is signed and filed with the county, the state grants those two people the right to conduct business jointly. They have joint checking accounts, file joint tax returns, pay bills together, etc. However, the big difference is that the state willfully discriminates and will not allow the above business transactions to be conducted jointly, as a partnership through marriage if the two people are of the same sex.

All I'm saying is the state doesn't care one iota about the sexual orientation of people who file to do business together. But the state will discriminate against two people who want to do personal business together if they are of the same sex. It's flat out discriminatory since the state also gives recognition and the same status to businesses as it does to people per federal constitutional court rulings.

And, the institution of marriage should be left to religion and the churches since the origins of marriage as we know it today does have its origins in religion. If two people of the same sex want to get married, then do it at a church. Maybe the church will allow it, maybe not. If not, find one that does allow same sex marriage. The state should only have an interest in how people choose to conduct business. If you get "married" in front of a J.P., there is nothing religious about that. You've only filed to do business as a joint partnership after some kind of ceremony. There's nothing religious about getting married in front of a J.P.