Quote:
Originally Posted by ben voyonsdonc
Here's my story:
I want to live my life and feel accepted by society like anybody else. Separate is not equal. A civil union is not good enough because it creates a needless division between gays and lesbians and the straight society. I will never go to my old church and demand to be married there...I understand their right to disagree with gay marriage and would not want to have to deal with the disapproval. A religion can still only recognize only striaght marriages but the government does not have that right. A government is bound by the constitutional rights of its people and not by a particular dominant religion.
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It would still be equal between gays and straights if they were all called civil unions. The government was wrong to take a religious tradition (not only a Christian one, but since our laws and customs are based largely on Western Christianity, its the most obvious), make it their own, and then change it to suit the prevailing views of a vocal sector of society at the expense of a less popular sector of society. The problem that now faces Churches is that because SSM is law, it can potentially be successfully argued that Churches are not abiding by the laws of this nation, and therefore should not be categorized as charitable organizations, and be forced to relinguish their tax freedoms... this would essentially crush every Church in Canada, save the Catholic Chuch, or, force them to acquiese, which is against everything we claim to stand for.
While this may be dismissed as a slippery slope argument by some, it is a significant legal threat that could easily be undertaken by gays with less tolerant views than yourself, who feel that true equality is forcing Churches to marry them.
I believe in your right to formally declare your love to someone, man or woman. I also believe in the right to religious independence. I think most people agree that the government has to adjust the marriage laws to protect and defend both. The word marriage should be stricken from legislation and replaced with civil union, for everyone.