Taking Down Words on Gay Marriage Ban

Go now to TDW and read her post on marriage and the gay marriage ban. Having been married for about a year and half after a long time of bachelorhood, I got to say what she wrote about marriage was magnificently inspiring. My wife has put up with some boneheaded stupidity out of me and I have learned to live with her. Neither was easy.

She also makes good points about the constitutional ban on gay marriage - unneeded, enshrines discrimination in our state constitution, hypocritical if the idea is to help married couples. The pinheads come out in force in the comments. Who is frightened by gay marriage? Not liberals and Democrats. If we are frightened by anything, it is the injustice that would become part of our state constitution.

Marriage is both religious sacrament and civil institution. Are marriages performed by a judge, the same as those performed by a priest? I think Catholic law still would not recognize the former as a marriage. Can I get married in a church, but not have the State of Indiana recognize it? I would need to research the issue but I think it is possible.

Does canon law establish how property is inherited? No, that is for the civil law. Now, I do think that Islam is a bit different there.

Try thinking about it this way, a church could recognize gay marriage. Nothing that church does alters the fact that Indiana law does not recognize these marriages and those gays married in that church lack the property rights of us heterosexuals.

The reverse is equally true. If Indiana law were to recognize gay marriage, the State of Indiana cannot require a church to perform gay marriages.