You’re Likable Enough, Gay People

[Elspode]

Law forbidding equal rights for gays have their only argument based in religion. Since two gays marrying each other hurts no one else, the government has zero basis to deny it, because laws forbidding such unions are defacto violations of the separation of church and state.

If you agree with this, you are neither tolerant nor intolerant. You are rational. If you are against it, you are neither tolerant nor intolerant. You are religious.

If your church doesn't wish to sanction the marriage of same sex couples, your church has that prerogative. If your government doesn't wish to allow such a contractual union, your government is engaging in discrimination based on religion.

[wolf]

Originally Posted by Elspode

If your church doesn't wish to sanction the marriage of same sex couples, your church has that prerogative. If your government doesn't wish to allow such a contractual union, your government is engaging in discrimination based on religion.

If the government makes gay marriage the law of the land, then they are getting into the business of religion, because what happens to my hypothetical church if I refuse to perform ceremonies for gay couples because it's against the tenets of my religion?

See, the government should be totally out of the marriage business.

[Elspode]

Originally Posted by wolf

If the government makes gay marriage the law of the land, then they are getting into the business of religion, because what happens to my hypothetical church if I refuse to perform ceremonies for gay couples because it's against the tenets of my religion?

See, the government should be totally out of the marriage business.

This works for me, except on the level of maintaining records that are useful for geneology purposes.

However, allowing anyone who wants to get married to legally do so doesn't strike me as the government getting into the business of religion. By restricting contractual unions solely on the basis of religious tenets, they are already *in* the religion business, so by removing such restrictions, it is a step *out* of that business from my POV.