Well if you haven’t heard my dialogue yet… well then here’s your chance. If you want to be informed then by all means continue reading. I myself, being an American, believe in civil rights and the constitution that guarantees those rights. “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” This, oh-so-famous line is a direct quote from The Declaration of Independence written over one-hundred years ago by Thomas Jefferson and signed by the first Congressional Congress. This is the foundation of our government and our reward for living in such a glorious nation.
The first ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, was completed, signed in 1789, and enacted in 1791. This occurred less than twenty years after our Declaration of Independence. Our first amendment reads “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Known as the “wall of separation” between the church and state, this guaranteed right denies power to the government over religious affairs.
If you were to ask any priest, rabbi, minister, or other religious leader what their definition of marriage is, they would say it is a spiritual union in which two persons are unified under the eyes of God, Allah, Mohammed, Jesus, etc. This answer poses an interesting question. If the church deems marriage as a spiritual union, then what RIGHT does the government have to enter into said contracts with its persons. The government should therefore remain neutral and unbiased in religious affairs and not use the term marriage, as it is reserved for spiritual institutions.
To put it very simply, if you go before a Judge, which EVERYONE has to in order to legalize their union in the eyes of the government, they should be signing a CIVIL UNION Certificate, not a Marriage Certificate. If you go to a church, temple, mosque, or place of worship and your ceremony is preformed you sign a marriage certificate from that religious institution. This formula should apply to ALL Americans, and not one particular group. We cannot change 2000 years of religious dogma overnight and we cannot force people to accept something their religion deems “wrong”. However we can create equality for everyone if we get the word out. It is only through understanding and compromise that we can all move forward past the ignorance and achieve long lasting tolerance.
”The Legislature would not violate a couple’s constitutional right to marry if- perhaps in order to emphasize and clarify that this civil union is distinct from the religious institution of marriage – it were to assign a name other than marriage as the official designation of the family relationship for ALL couples” ~Jerry Brown
(page 81)
Source:
In the Supreme Court of California
S147999
Ct.app. 1/3 Noc. A110449, A110450, A110451,
A110463, A110651, A110652
San Fransisco County
JCCP No. 4365
In re MARRIAGE CASES
[Six consolidated appeals.]
