Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community - View Single Post - Anonymous Poll: Should homosexuals be allowed to get married?

photon · 06-25-2010, 10:06 AM

Marriage is just a word which is a placeholder for the concept of marriage. Other languages have different words for similar concepts.

Concepts change over time, I don't see anyone trying to avoid using the word marriage because it used to (or still) mean more along the lines of ownership and obligation, or arranged setups without free choice, or relationships with what we would today consider under-age people.

So it seems to me that the "dictionary defense" for not allowing homosexual marriage is just a proxy for some other argument.

Because if the concept behind a civil union and the concept behind a marriage is the same, and if there's no resistance to the concept, why the different terms?

Marriage is about commitment and trust and making a vow or contract with a partner in the eyes of society that will be given special status. There is nothing fundamentally different about a homosexual marriage that requires it to be a different institution, and giving it a different name only because it's same sex is divisive.

06-25-2010, 10:06 AM	#90
photon The new goggles also do nothing. Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Calgary Exp:	Marriage is just a word which is a placeholder for the concept of marriage. Other languages have different words for similar concepts. Concepts change over time, I don't see anyone trying to avoid using the word marriage because it used to (or still) mean more along the lines of ownership and obligation, or arranged setups without free choice, or relationships with what we would today consider under-age people. So it seems to me that the "dictionary defense" for not allowing homosexual marriage is just a proxy for some other argument. Because if the concept behind a civil union and the concept behind a marriage is the same, and if there's no resistance to the concept, why the different terms? Marriage is about commitment and trust and making a vow or contract with a partner in the eyes of society that will be given special status. There is nothing fundamentally different about a homosexual marriage that requires it to be a different institution, and giving it a different name only because it's same sex is divisive. __________________ Uncertainty is an uncomfortable position. But certainty is an absurd one.