Marriage of Convenience

By Paul Wilson

On Aug 9, another historic event occurred in this already-too-long presidential campaign. Leading Democratic candidates attended the first debate sponsored by LOGO, cables's gay and lesbian channel, and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), to speak directly to the issues affecting gay voters. Front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barak Obama put their best liberal foot forward, showing proper support for the equality of their gay and lesbian bretheren, yet still managed to dance around the issue of gay marriage.

In fact, only two candidates, Dennis Kucinich and Mike Gravel, spoke bravely in favor of gay marriage. All others backed away, preferring the safer term "civil unions."
This is yet another "separate but equal" mentality that mirrors the laws of the 50's, prohibiting blacks from marrying whites.

The problem that sticks in the craw of the candidates is simply the term "marriage." Buried in religious dogma, marriage has been usurped by the church, making sacrament out of a legal contract.

Our Western culture has defined marriage according to christian beliefs. This has given religion influence over something which, by definition, should be a civil matter. Let's face it, our sexually repressed society has had to justify the urge to procreate, by giving it a holy mandate.

One thing that the candidates did agree on is the need to keep a separation of church and state, when it comes to civil liberties. This is crucial, if the rights of the gay and lesbian community are ever to be recognized. It is perfectly acceptable for a church to define marriage within their own group...but they must not be able to define it under civil law. This is tantamount to forcing a national religion on all Americans. Whatever your beliefs, it should not affect your rights under the constitution.

Our Democratic candidates have become timid, afraid to appear "too liberal." Their whole focus is on the swing voter, trying to appeal to everyone at once. Apparently they still haven't learned the lessons of their predecessors, who lost because they had no clear-cut platform to separate them from their opposition. So, it's protest the war, but not too loudly or you don't support the troops...Speak up for health care reform, but don't support universal healthcare or you appear to be anti-free enterprise...support gay rights, but not gay marriage, or you seem anti-God.

Democrats better realize that the gay and lesbian population represent 4% of the voters...that's a pretty big swing vote.

If we can take back marriage, as a right of every citizen, it will go a long way toward restoring a separation of church and state...if, indeed, we ever truly had one.