Opinion
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Government shouldn’t restrict marriage between two adults
O
By G. Michael Dobbs
news@thereminder.com
Hey kids, do you remember
what took place on May 17, 2004 in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts? Same sex marriage was made legal. That’s right. For the past eight
years, the civil contract that is marriage has been available to every adult in the state. Do you recall how critics
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have claimed that taking such a step would lead to ter rible consequences? That somehow having two people of the same gender getting married would somehow affect straight marriages. I never understood that logic.
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affected by same sex marriage? I bet it hasn’t. And another prediction didn’t
come to pass either: that Northampton would be the gay marriage capital of the world and that numerous businesses would sprout up to serve the burgeoning gay marriage scene.
G. Michael Dobbs
That hasn’t happened either. Instead, just like straight
people, gay residents of Massachusetts have either committed themselves to marriage or remained in other sorts of relationships. Marriage is simply part of life. For me, this is not really
much of an issue that should divide liberals and conservatives. If a person believes the government should not intrude into an issue such as marriage, then why worry about a person’s sexual orientation? If two adults
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willingly want to enter into the marriage contract, then whose business is it to interfere? Now, to be clear, I’m not
suggesting forcing any religious faith to accept same sex marriages. Marriage is both a civil contract and, depending upon the couple, a sacrament. You can have a perfectly legal marriage without the inclusion of a religious ceremony. I would like to think that
people of faith could be both tolerant and open-minded. They could accept people who differ from them, but share many of the same values, such as a willingness to commit to a monogamous relationship. I feel sorry for the folks in
North Carolina who voted to approve a constitutional amendment banning same sex marriages and civil unions. And I know this will now become an issue in the presidential race with the following statement made by President Barack Obama last week: “I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same- sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that Don’t Ask Don’t Tell is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex
See MARRIAGE on page 10
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