From: "John D. Giorgis" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> <Snip>
> First, the question is: "Should marriage be redefined to include homosexual > unions as well as heterosexual unions?" And indeed, given the current > judicial environment, the question can be taken one step further "Does our > civilization have a moral responsibility to so redefine marriages, > *immediately?*" > > In my mind, however, the questions can be further redefined to be: "Should > our civilization incentivse homosexual unions by redefining marriage to > include such unions?" And also, "Does our civilization have a moral > obligation to immediately incentivise homosexual unions by so redefining > marriages *immediately.*?" > > I come down very firmly against the latter questions, and also fairly > firmly aginst the former question as well. The problem is that your questions are wrong. You ask about *moral* obligations. Moral obligations are subjective, and by virtue of that fact, not the correct standard to apply as there is clearly massive disagreement on that. The real question is: Are we *legally* obligated to do those things? Under the standard of equal protection under the law, Yes, we are obligated to do so. Legally, a homosexual couple should be entitled to all the rights and priveledges of a heterosexual couple. That is precicely the question answered by courts in Vermont and Massachusetts (please forgive my spelling if I spelled it wrong). Can you give compelling reason why we should ignore legal obligations because they conflict with your moral ones? Should we outlaw interracial marriage because some people are morally opposed to it? Or maybe examples closer to your home: Should we ban all forms of prayer (including student innitiated prayer) in public schools because some people are morally opposed to it? Should we remove the words "under God" from the Pledge of alliegence because some people are morally opposed to it? You see, morals are ambiguous, and if you apply moral standards to choices in law, you will invariably end up with a system that is unjust. Apply legal standards, and the answers are much more clear. Michael Harney [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ http://www.mccmedia.com/mailman/listinfo/brin-l
