Quote:
Originally Posted by Thunderball
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.
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.
|
I understand where you are coming from. However, it is specifically written in the legislation that any Church can refuse to marry gays and lesbians if it goes against their religious beliefs. There was a reference to the Supreme Court of Canada to see if this legislation would contravene either the rights of gays and lesbians or the religious rights of the Churches who refused to marry gays and lesbians. The Supreme Court ruled that no it did not contravene the rights of gays and lesbians nor did it infringe upon the religious rights of the Churches. So there is no threat to religious bodies.
I appreciate that you are trying to come up with a solution that is equal and fair but I think that abolishing civil marriages is a little overly dramatic. It is kind of like amputating a broken arm instead of trying to heal it.
I think that marriage is not only a religious and a civil institution. It is also a societal institution. A few months after I came out to my Mom, she told me that afterwards she cried for a few hours because she was afraid I was going to be hurt...I personally think she was also crying because her dream of me getting married was dead. She is the kind of person who could watch that awful "Wedding Story" on TLC for 4 hours consecutively. Marriage has become more than simply a goverment or a religious term...it has become deeply ingrained in our society has led to atheists, agnostics, and believers alike to be married. If we abolish civil marriage, those who don't want to be married in a Church/synagogue/mosque but want to be recognized as married would be denied that recognition.