Except that the churches are hugely powerful, and right now the term 'marriage' is tied with a lot of legal meaning as well. Completely separating the two would be a nightmare, not to mention that the churches and those who are conservative in the government would probably fight it every inch of the way, or push for the new term to give little to no recognition or legal rights.
Also, imo - I do not believe that churches should be encouraged to continue in their discrimination against gays and lesbians.
But - really - I get the idea and what it's based on, and the virtue of it. But I don't think it would -work-.
Also, upon review of what they did here in Canada:
The Canadian Parliament approved the granting and recognition of same-sex marriages by defining marriage as “the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others” in July 2005 (<a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Canada">Wiki</a>)
You can redefine the word, rather than switching to a different term. And it's my belief that this is what should occur. Introducing a new term only complicates things.
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Re: and here we have the crux of the issue
Date: 2009-12-04 05:11 am (UTC)Also, imo - I do not believe that churches should be encouraged to continue in their discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Re: and here we have the crux of the issue
Date: 2009-12-04 05:17 am (UTC)no, no one wants to "encourage" prejudice.... but you can LEGISLATE civil behavior, not religious beliefs. thank Gd.
Re: and here we have the crux of the issue
Date: 2009-12-04 05:25 am (UTC)But - really - I get the idea and what it's based on, and the virtue of it. But I don't think it would -work-.
Also, upon review of what they did here in Canada:
The Canadian Parliament approved the granting and recognition of same-sex marriages by defining marriage as “the lawful union of two persons to the exclusion of all others” in July 2005 (<a href='http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_Canada">Wiki</a>) You can redefine the word, rather than switching to a different term. And it's my belief that this is what should occur. Introducing a new term only complicates things.