That religious folks believe marriage is between a man and a woman should have nothing to do with the secular laws of a state- even if the majority really really wants to be prejudiced- we wouldn't allow miscegenation laws, and we shouldn't permit discrimination against gay people, just because it is a time honored tradition. Either we are a religious country with religious laws, or we are a country with a separation of church and state. If we are the latter, then bigots in their churches can withhold all the goodies they want to from gay people, but when it comes to state conferred benefits, those should be open to all.
There is no other logical way to see it- there are "religious" ways to see it, but those aren't really germane in a secular country. We could, of course, bend to the time honored prejudices of the religious majority, but that's not really what this country should be about, imo. One of the great things about America, and about our constitution, is its protection of the minority from the tyranny of the majority. I kind of like that about America. Some times it takes a while before we, as Americans, realize our tyranny (or until the courts do, and hold up a beacon for Americans to follow)- but it happens, and in this case, the sooner the better. |
