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 | "Marriage is a union between one man and one woman, designed of God to last so long as they both shall live." Westminster Confession of Faith 1 |
| "A loving man and woman in a committed relationship can marry. Dogs, no matter what their relationship, are not allowed to marry. How should society treat gays and lesbians in committed relationships? As dogs or as humans?" Anonymous posting to an Internet mailing list; used by permission of the author. |
| "It is legitimate and necessary to ask oneself if this is not perhaps part of a new ideology of evil, perhaps more insidious and hidden, which attempts to pit human rights against the family and against man." Pope John Paul II, referring to same-sex marriage. 2 |
| "I guess I just don't understand how people can be so passionately hateful about something that won't affect their lives one bit." "Stew." 3 |
| "If everything is marriage then nothing is marriage." Benigno Blanco, vice-president of the Spanish Family Forum, 4 |
| "We are in a transition between a new consciousness and old definitions. The new consciousness will win but as with every human struggle to emerge from ignorance, there will be casualties long after the issue is decided." John Shelby Spong speaking about same-sex marriage. |
| " 'Sexual orientation' does not constitute a quality
comparable to race, ethnic background, etc., in respect to
nondiscrimination. Therefore, it is not unjust, for example, to limit the
bond of marriage to the union of a woman and a man. It is not unjust to
oppose granting to homosexual couples benefits that in justice should belong
to marriage alone. When marriage is redefined so as to make other
relationships equivalent to it, the institution of marriage is devalued and
further weakened. The
weakening of this basic institution at all levels and by various forces has
already exacted too high a social cost." United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. 5 |
| "Limiting the designation of marriage to a union 'between a man and a woman' is unconstitutional and must be stricken from the statute," California Chief Justice Ron George who wrote the ruling legalizing same-sex marriage in California. |
Overview:
In 1948, California became the first state in the U.S. to allow interracial couples to marry. Another 19 years passed before the U.S. Supreme Court changed the definition of marriage in 1967 and made interracial marriage available to loving, committed couples across the entire country.
In 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry. California became the second in 2008. If same-sex marriage takes as long as interracial marriage to spread across the country, the process will take until 2023.
Aspects of same-sex marriage (SSM) discussed in this section:
Sponsored link:
Amazon.com lists the following books on same-sex marriage that you can safely order from their online bookstore.
If a generic Amazon.com ad is displayed, click on your browser's refresh icon.
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Home > Religious info. > Basic > Marriage > Same-sex marriage > here |
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References used:
The following information sources were used to prepare and update the above essay. The hyperlinks are not necessarily still active today.
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"Of Marriage and Divorce," Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter 26, Section 6.135, at: http://www.ccel.org/ or http://www.sacred-texts.com
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Philip Pullella, "Gay marriage, abortion new forms of evil: Pope," The Toronto Star, 2005-FEB-23, Page A14.
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"Stew" posting a response to "Dispatches from the Culture Wars" bulletin board on the topic "Canada paves the way for gay marriage," on 2004-DEC-09. See: http://www.stcynic.com/
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"Spanish pro-family leader decries government policies," Catholic World News, 2005-JUN-20, at: http://www.cwnews.com/
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United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, "Ministry to persons with a homosexual inclination: Guidelines for Pastoral Care," 2006-NOV-14, at: http://www.usccb.org/ This is a PDF file. You may require software to read it. Software can be obtained free from:
Copyright © 1997 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2008-SEP-12
Author: B.A. Robinson
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