Equal Marriage FAQ's
Why marriage? Why not civil union?
New York grants hundreds of legal rights to “married” couples. Getting New York to set up a separate, parallel, civil union system would mean that we could have a political struggle over each particular right. Moreover, the private sector, while universally recognizing legal marriage, is inconsistent in providing domestic partnership benefits, meaning same sex couples are left reliant on the kindness of strange employers.
But why call it “marriage”.
It’s a New York State law thing. New York State’s legal system provides hundreds of rights based on a certain legal definition of marriage. But the definition discriminates against same sex couples. You could call marriage whatever you want (you could call it “Bob”) but the fact is that New York’s legal system only recognizes the term “marriage.”
But wouldn’t that mean that clergy would be forced to go against their churches teachings?
New York State does not require Priests or Rabbis to marry Zoroastrians or Seventh Day Adventists. The law would not require clergy to marry same-sex couples.
But wouldn’t this undermine the institution of marriage?
Well, the institution of marriage is actually doing just fine in Canada and Massachusetts where same-sex marriage is legal. The institution of marriage is quite flexible and has survived reality television programs (Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire?), a 50% divorce rate, and has evolved over the years to accommodate changing times. Most people now agree that it is a good thing that wives are not considered the property of husbands and that twelve year old girls are not legally eligible to be married off by their parents. In fact, Christians opposed marriage as a sacrament until the 13th century.
But how could we possibly succeed in changing the law in New York State?
Actually, polls now show that a growing majority of New Yorkers approve of same sex marriage while opposition is declining. And the political landscape in Albany seems likely to change soon (Eliot Spitzer supports same sex marriage). People opposed Susan B. Anthony and the thousands of American women struggling for the right to vote. Segregationists opposed the civil rights movement in the 50's and 60's. These opponents of social change weren't evil. They were just wrong. Most of them eventually changed their minds. Humans are a flexible species and, thankfully, are also capable of empathy.