A reason to celebrate
Yesterday in New Jersey, same-gender couples lined up to apply for civil unions in the most recent state to take a step toward full marriage equality. The best summary is from one of the newly-unioned himself:
“It’s a bittersweet moment because it is not a marriage ceremony, but it is a step forward,†said Mr. Goldstein, the chairman of Garden State Equality, a gay rights group.
I argue constantly that marriage is a religious issue, not a state issue. The term is a religious term, the act is a religious act. And you know if we allow the gays and lesbians to have marriages, everyone will want them: including the polygamists. So what? How does that affect you? And you say people will marry their dog? I didn’t recall the motion to give animals contractual rights.
Everyone should have a civil union — gay and straight alike. If they choose to have a religious ceremony, allow them to enjoy their marriage. The state recognition should be a separate act.
It is, you say? The marriage license has to be applied for separately? Oh, well then. It looks like it wouldn’t be that big of a deal.
But think of the children. Yes, let’s. Think of the children of same-gender couples who grow up knowing the love of their parents and their family. Think of the children who grow up in this household where, in some states, they can be ripped apart at any minute, where if one of their parents is in the hospital and they’re the legal child of the other partner they may or may not be able to visit. Think of the children who have this awesome understanding of love and equality in an environment that doesn’t respect them.
Today, this week, maybe even this month we celebrate. But there is a long way to go. And I seem to remember hearing these arguments before: against inter-racial marriage, against inter-national marriage. But hey, in some states, feel free to get married to your cousin, married younger than 16, provided it’s an opposite-gender couple.
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Daniel Ross-Jones serves as Minister for Youth & Young Adults at First Congregational Church of Palo Alto, United Church of Christ. Living in the San Francisco Bay Area for a time still measured in months, he is frequently getting lost and discovering treasures of a landscape very different from his Upper Midwestern roots. Green Jello Hotdish is a blog exploring the intersections of his days. 
