Ah, gay marriage. There has been lots of furor about the Massachussets court stating the right of gay marriage recently. And all the conservative Christians cry foul, stating that this develoment will destroy marriage as we know it, and we'll all go to hell in a handbasket. Hmm.

Here's a great piece on Slate that rebuffs the idea that gay marriage somehow "undermines" hetero marriage:

What's really undermining the sanctity of marriage?

I just don't understand why conservative religious folks are so quick to step on other people's rights when those rights don't conform to their own sense of morality. This is a FREE country, not a christian moral state. As long as people aren't hurting each other, they should be able to do whatever they want, however they want, and believe what they want. Tell me, conservative christians: how are they hurting you by getting married? Or more tellingly, what do you get out of preventing them from doing so?

Imagine this - what if I were to start a new religion tomorrow, called Smurfism. (I have the legal right to start a new religion if I want, and it has exactly the same status as any existing religion.) Let's say that in my religion, I preach that only same sex couples can marry. Well, now we're in a bind. My religion states a moral law that is diometrically opposed to Christianity, yet by the laws of this country, they are both equal. Whose side should the US goverment take?

The answer is, neither. In a fair society, "marriage" and "the governmental benefits associated with marriage" should be separate. If the government sets up a precedent whereby a pair of people can declare themselves a family and receive certain rights and benefits therefrom (like visiting each other in the hospital, for example), they can't allow it according to the statutes of one religion and not allow it acroding to another. Call it civil union if you want to, but stop denying it.

What's really at heart here is bigotry, plain and simple. Just because someone is different from you doesn't mean they're wrong.