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Originally posted by Incinerator+Apr 10 2005, 10:22 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (Incinerator @ Apr 10 2005, 10:22 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-MarchHare@Apr 10 2005, 11:42 PM
Quote:
Besides there is no inherent difference between a interracial married couple and a married couple from the same race.
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And what, pray tell, is the inherent difference between a same-sex married couple and an opposite-sex one? And if your answer is, "One can reproduce and one can't", then what is the difference between a homosexual couple and a heterosexual one where either the husband or wife is sterile? Would you deny the right to marry to opposite-sex couples who are unable or unwilling to have children? Would you create a seperate but equal classification for them too, such as "Non-procreating heterosexual civil union"?
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The inherent difference is that a heterosexual couple can have sexual relations in a way that involves a male sexual organ interacting a female sexual organ while a homosexual couple cannot. That is what the word "marriage" means in the English language (and its translation in any other languages) and has been since the beginning of civilization whether you like it or not. [/b][/quote]
From what dictionary did you get that definition?
I've got a few dictionaries lying around (Oxford Concise 1929, Oxford Reference 1995, 1996, Webster's 1960 and 1989) and none of them make any reference whatsoever to male or female sexual organs under the defintion of marriage.
I'm not a linguist but I have a sneaking suspicion that "the beginning of civilization" pre-dates the invention of the word "marriage". Maybe not though. What year did the "beginning of civilization" occur? If I know that then I can probably figure out whether the word "marriage" came before or after.