<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

I'll side with the founding fathers... 

The Federal Marriage Amendment is simply another tactic if the Right to inflict their theology on the rest of the country. When faced with a decision between democracy and theocracy, I'll chose democracy every time. The founding fathers were of the same opinion.
"History I believe furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of which their political as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purpose." -Thomas Jefferson

"In a free government the security for civil rights must be the same as that for religious rights" - James Madison

"The clergy, by getting themselves established by law and ingrafted into the machine of government, have been a very formidable engine against the civil and religious rights of man." -Thomas Jefferson

"The liberty I contend for is more than toleration. The very idea of toleration is despicable; it supposes that some have a pre-eminence above the rest to grant indulgence; whereas all should be equally free..." -John Leland

"Thirteen governments thus founded on the natural authority of the people alone, without a pretence of miracle or mystery, and which are destined to spread over the northern part of that whole quarter of the globe, are a great point gained in favor of the rights of mankind." - John Adams

"In every country and every age, the priest has been hostile to liberty. He is always in alliance with the despot, abetting his abuses in return for protection to his own. It is easier to acquire wealth and power by this combination than by deserving them, and to effect this, they have perverted the purest religion ever preached to man into mystery and jargon, unintelligible to all mankind, and therefore the safer for their purposes." -Thomas Jefferson
I propose that we eliminate the word marriage from the government. Marriage is a religious concept which has no role in a secular government. Rename everything civil unions and treat them as a contract declaring the intention to combine resources. Two consenting adults would then be allowed to enter into a civil union regardless of gender. Let churches call it marriage. Churches would be free to perform marriage ceremonies as they see fit. The only change would be the license.

Problem solved.

Permalink posted by clonecone : 9:53 PM
|