PufofFafflyirfi the Family 73
Notes 1 Like all arguments , those swirling around same-sex marriage are encoded in words . The irony in this case is that the central word , “ marriage ,” didn ’ t enter the English language until the 14th century and is shrouded in layers of different , often conflicting meanings . The religious see it as a divinely ordained union , but its secular , contractual history predates the origins of the three Western monotheistic religions . “ Biblical marriage ” meant the man owned the woman ( or women , since polygamy was condoned by scripture ). And no one seems clear on what marriage is or what it is for . Religions claim it is fundamentally a procreative union , but infertile people are not forbidden from marrying , neither are people beyond child-bearing age . As Andrew Sullivan has noted , “ In secular society , marriage was largely a matter of business : cementing family ties , forging social and economic alliances , providing social status for men and economic security for women , conferring dowries . . . marriages were mergers and acquisitions ” ( 16 ). Philosopher Richard Mohr quipped that today , at least legally , marriage is “ nothing but an empty space , delimited only by what it excludes — gay couples ,” siblings , parents and children , and certain individual who lack the mental ability to understand or enter into legal contracts . Jonathan Rauch elaborated on the point by explaining that there are no rules or behaviors that automatically negate a marriage :
If a man beats his wife . . . he may be convicted of assault , but the marriage is not automatically dissolved . Couples can be adulterous ( or “ open ”) yet still be married , as long as that is what they choose to be . They can be celibate , too ; consummation is not required . They can live together or apart , in the same house or in different countries : there is no residency or cohabitation requirement . There is no upper age limit . Spouses need not know each other or even meet before receiving a marriage license . They need not regularly see each other ; a prisoner of war or a sailor or adventurer can be separated from his wife for years and be no less married . They can have children or not . Not only can felons marry , they can do so on their way to the electric chair . . . . Within those rules , a marriage is whatever the spouses agree that it is . So the laws say almost nothing about what marriage is for : just who can be married . ( 14-15 )
So for the sake of simplicity ( and sanity ), I will adopt what seems to be the Christian Right ’ s definition of “ traditional marriage ”: one man and one woman exercising their state-granted marriage license by exchanging vows in a church . Excluded from “ traditional marriage ” would be civil ceremonies and the “ civil unions ” they producs , even though the parties involved are called “ spouses ” and the unions are legal “ marriages ,” unless of course the spouses are of the same sex . Then the unions are called “ illegal ,” except in Massachusetts where the couple has full legal rights as married
spouses . Confusing , isn ’ t it ? Even the pope seems to have trouble with the wording :