marc9000 writes:
Under the U.S. Constitution, a homosexual should have the same access to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness just the same as anyone else.
To many people, the "pursuit of happiness" includes marriage - and to the person of their choice, not a government-approved candidate.
marc9000 writes:
His private life in his own home with his partner is no one else's business. But he shouldn't have the right to the public institution of marriage....
Marriage is not essentially a "public institution". It's a contract between two people which the government recognizes by affording it certain privileges, e.g. tax breaks.
The government has no business interfering in
whom you make a contract with. If it can forbid homosexuals from marrying, it can also forbid you from selling your house to a black man.
marc9000 writes:
I don't think they need a contract for anything - single people don't have a contract.
But marriage
is a contract. It may have certain social implications as well but the government has no control over that. As far as the government is concerned, it's just a contract between two people. And single people who are cohabiting do indeed have a sort of unwritten contract. That's why it's called a "common
law marriage". That's why the law recognizes "palimony".