(no subject)

[bzarcher]

The constitutional amendment against gay marraige was just defeated 48-50.

At least for a little while, it's done, and hopefully the election will help keep it from coming back up again.

Comments

[gigerlicious.livejournal.com]

To be patently correct, as I am wont to point out, this wasn't a vote on the amendment. To be even more precise, this exercise in political ringdumbassery was just put here as a placeholder. No one had even the most deluded hope this would pass.

This was just the first shot, it's far from over.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Perhaps, but I at least have some hopes that they will try to focus on election steam rather than the amendment steam.

[lanthinel.livejournal.com]

Well, this sort of thing isn't uncommon: useless and stupid and poorly thought out amendments often get voted on to some degree in Congress...often times multiple times in different versions. This one is getting as much press as it is because Karl Rove wants it to be an election issue and get press attention, and, well, that's a pretty damn close vote along party lines, looks like. So, yeah, it'll be back in some other form before long - maybe even before the election.

A modest proposal.

[spartanfan.livejournal.com]

The only intelligent way we can stand down from this battle in the culture wars is to take government out of all marriages.

Everybody should be able to create civil unions, and the legal precedents of marriage law can simply be appended into a special class of contract law. This allows people who want to engage in same-sex marriage or polygmy to make binding contracts regarding property and rights or form corporations for the same respectively.

Re: A modest proposal.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

I'd find this completely acceptible. Leaving marraige a completely religious and not a government recognized institution seems very good to me.

Re: A modest proposal.

[gigerlicious.livejournal.com]

Excellent idea. While we're at it, we'll tease child custody out of government and completely privatize it.


Take marriage out of government? I appreciate the ideal feel of the proposal, but in terms of practicality it's nigh impossible.

Re: A modest proposal.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Child custody could be handled under civil unions and without religious implications or issues.

We have made marriage a part of government, but I do not think it neccesarily needs to be, particularly if a secular alternative and/or compliment is availible.

Re: A modest proposal.

[gigerlicious.livejournal.com]

I was being intentionally ludicrious about the child custody comment, because selling your idea to America is a pipe dream. Hey, I love good fiction too, but splitting marriage from government is about as likely as the disposal of our nuclear arsenal.

[ptika.livejournal.com]

If you look at it a darker way, the constitutional amendment was just show to convince GOP core voters that Their Party Cares About Values, so that they turn out to vote GOP.

Call me pessimistic, but I still think it's possible for Bush to steal your election.

[bzarcher.livejournal.com]

Even more pessimistic is my private suspicion that if we keep getting 'terror alerts' about the election and polling places, there might not be an election.