A single federal judge in California has over ruled eight million of that state’s voters by declaring that a law prohibiting same sex marriages is unconstitutional. I have re read my pocket constitution and I cannot find anything in there that allows the federal government to regulate marriages.
I think the judge is correct but not for the reasons he gave. I think that a marriage is a religious ceremony and as such belongs to the church, not government. Every major religion has rules and regulations about marriage. If you hold that there should be “A wall of separation” between church and state, then “marriage” “wedding” “nuptials” or any other words describing a religions celebration uniting a couple should not appear in government documents.
Government can, and should, maintain copies of contracts between two or more people of whatever sex determining their joint responsibilities and call them “domestic contracts.” They can even recognize a ceremony performed by a minister, rabbi or priest as a domestic contract, but never as a marriage.
And there ought to be no limits to such contracts. If two people of the same sex want such a contract, they have the right to draw it up and sign it. Or if two women want to share a home with a man, or vice versa, they also have the right to do so.
If these same people want their “union” to be recognized as a marriage, then they need to find a minister, priest or rabbi willing to perform the ceremony. The spiritual aspects of that union are the business of the religions body authorizing it, not the government.
