Marriage

Assertion: Marriage is, by definition, the legal union of a man and a woman as husband and wife.

Why This Is Important: Traditions are important, but perhaps even more so are the fundamentals of basic Reason, Fact, and Logic. We would no sooner call an apple an orange, or declare that one plus one equals bacon, than to say that a marriage is between a woman and a woman, or a man and a man. A thing is not a different thing simply because some wish that it were so. That is not to say that all American citizens in a deeply committed relationship should not have the same basic rights as married couples simply because they are of the same sex; that is discrimination. Same-sex couples should be able to enter into a legally binding partnership of some kind – the actual term and definition is yet be determined – and be granted the same status in the eyes of the law, and hospital administrations, and insurance companies, and every other institution as long as they both shall live.

Constitutional Basis: None, either way, although we would say that we support the “Pursuit of Happiness” in virtually any form; if for some that means a same-sex partnership, or a civil union, it is a personal and private matter, and it is the business of only those who make that choice. The government itself has no business interjecting itself into matters of the heart, one way or another.

Quote: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet.” – William Shakespeare