Words Like Locusts Flew From Her Fingers

Separate Legal Marriage From Religious Marriage

Same-Sex Marriage – washingtonpost.com
On November 7, 2006, Virginians will vote on a proposed constitutional amendment. Supporters say the amendment is clear: marriage can only exist between a man and a woman. Opponents say the language goes beyond that and could lead to legal discrimination against all unmarried couples. As marriage has traditionally represented not only a civil union but a religious one, the dialogue about what is right contains both legal and moral implications.

One way of approaching this problem is to do what (I’m told) the French do: completely separate the legal contract from the religious rite. If a couple wants their union to be recognized by the government for legal purposes, they will need to appear before a government official, take the appropriate oaths, and sign the appropriate documents. People who desire a religious marriage can, of course, have one of their choosing — but a religious minister will not be able to declare that people are married in the legal sense. This sort of approach would go a long way, I think, towards eliminating some of the nonsense we’re currently seeing in Virginia.

There are clearly two aspects to marriage — a legal one and, for those who believe, a religious one. Religion and government really should be entirely separate anyway. Thus, religious figures should not be permitted to perform “legal” marriages.