A Marriage by Any Other Name

Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly gave the go-ahead yesterday to a proposed 2008 ballot question on banning gay marriage:

Reilly Supports 2008 Ballot Question

This is wrong.

And not just because its a hateful, mean-spirited attempt to use the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to discriminate against a societal group. It's wrong because the government should NEVER have adopted the term "Marriage" in its legal language.

Marriage is a religious term. The separation of Church and State means that the STATE should not be supporting a religious institution when two people join in union. State sponsored cohabitation is called a Civil Union; Marriage is a Holy estate that is supported by the CHURCH of various religions.

The simple answer here is that the STATE should offer civil unions to anybody who wants to be joined legally as a couple. The CHURCH should offer the sacrament of Marriage. If a church chooses not to recognize certain civil unions due to their own religious beliefs than it should be their right to do so. Just as it should be the right of two consenting adults to be joined together in a Civil Union; free of judicial and Constitutional bias.

If only the Attorney General recognized this...