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Originally Posted by kg_veteran
You're misstating my argument regarding gay marriage.
I didn't argue that if we let gays marry that we'd have to let relatives marry. What I argued was, if the premise is that two consenting adults who want to commit to each other should be allowed to get married, then there is no logical distinction between a guy marrying a guy and a guy marrying his mom. Both situations involve consenting adults, neither of whom is "hurting anybody else" according to the rationale put forth by the gay marriage supporters. Of course, most people in favor of gay marriage aren't in favor of guys marrying their moms. That's because they simply draw the line at a different place on what is morally acceptable than the person who is against gay marriage does. They have no qualms about laws prohibiting such incestuous marriages, but they do have qualms about laws prohibiting gays from marrying. And that's hypocritical.
On the other hand, as you've readily admitted, there is a rather obvious distinction between a child's parent and their grandparent.
Nice try, but no cigar.
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Which is exactly why the line will continue to be drawn at what's historically and socially defined as a "marriage." AND, if you give spousal privileges to "civil unions" or whatevers, then that'll duly expand to "domestic partnerships" where people who co-habitate for various reasons excluding love and/or sex will have those same privileges.
I personally think that we should just take the government and law out of marriage altogether. Why is there any legal status to begin with?
Live and let live - most people are going to get married by a church anyway, and it's "official" to them in that sense. Those that don't, get married for the symbolic gesture. Those that can't, due to whatever law, also get "married" in a symbolic sense quite often.
They only have two reasons to really want to get "married" in a legal sense:
1 - To attain legal status that gives them privileges that the government should've never given in the first place.
2 - To get some sort of false sense of wider acceptance because they overrate #1.
Otherwise, just live together and have a wedding, have someone perform a ceremony, and change your name if you are so inclined. Plenty of straight couples do this.
I'll even go so far as to say that most people (gay or otherwise) who support gay marriage in the legislative sense agree with #2 in doing so, because they are usually more liberal and idealogically support a government that overreaches.