OK, Then None Of Us Will Be "Married"

When I heard the initial reports that came out that stated the African American voters who came to the polls to vote for Obama but againt Prop 8 had made the difference between Proposition 8 passing or being defeated, I thought about addressing that issue here. The reason I didn't, was that the notion of scapegoating that community seemed like a step in the wrong direction at at time when racial division seemed to be waning. Now that Nate Silver at fivethirtyeight.com has debunked that myth, I'm glad I didn't fan any flames. Turns out the margin by which Prop 8 passed would have been much larger if young, progressive Obama voters had not turned out.

Now for another notion regarding Prop 8. How many people are so attached to the term "marriage" as it pertains to their union, that they would not be willing to give it up? What if instead of being married we were all "legally joined" (you pick the terminology you like). Remiel proposes that the term marriage be thrown out as a legal definition of a union between a man and a woman. Instead, all such unions should be referred to as "civil unions", leaving the term "marriage" to be applied by religious institutions and putting church and state in their separate spaces. This would level the legal playing field for gays and and heterosexuals, while leaving religious institutions the right to refuse the right of being "married" (it really is just a word after all) to those who offend their sensibilities. Would you agree to that change to our constitution?