Gay marriage

New York passed gay marriage yesterday, becoming the sixth state (plus DC, though they don't really count.  "Taxation without representation" and all that.  It's even on their licence plates.  Why would they even advertise that?  But I'm rambling.  Here's the rest of the sentence) to do so.  First of all, I think many, if not all of the rights afforded to straight couples should have been given to gays a long time ago, and withholding them is just stupid.  Hospital rights, inheritance and military service are a few of the things that come to mind.  Many on the religious right would argue that homosexuality is wrong, period, and while I personally am not comfortable with the thought of two sweaty dudes going at it, the morality of it is not where my beef lies.

Though this is pretty much wrong no matter who you ask

We lost much valuable manpower and skills by not allowing gays to serve in the military up until now.  They can turn a wrench, fire a rifle or type on a keyboard just as well as their straight counterparts.  There are certain areas where it wouldn't be wise, in my opinion, such as the battlefield,  for the same reason they don't allow women into some types of combat; because it can degrade morale, some people would be uncomfortable, etc.  However, most of the military today is now in either a support position or working in offices.  Only a small percentage fights in the traditional infantry position that comes to mind when you say 'soldier'.

I get that two people of the same gender can love each other.  I really do.  But the only thing I disagree with is the term 'marriage' to describe a homosexual union.  Marriage has always been a religious institution.  Even though many LGBT supporters will argue that its current definition as the union between one man and one woman is relatively new, homsexuality has never been accepted by most religions.  And I doubt that's going to change any time soon.  In fact, why would gays even want to subscribe to something promoted by groups that have persecuted them for millenia?  That's like an African American demanding entrance into the KKK, because...I don't know, equality or something. 

Just...no.

My point here is that instead of trying to get the religious right to accept gay marriage as a thing, homosexuals should focus on getting the same rights offered to straight couples.  Leave 'marriage' to the religious.  Be the bigger person.  Let the baby have its bottle.  Smell what I'm serving here?  Gays complain about their rights being infringed, and that's true for the most part, but marriage is an intrinsic part of the life of faith of (non-gay accepting) religious people, and demanding entrance tramples upon the beliefs of a large segment of the population.

What I propose is that it be called something different.  Call it a domestic partnership.  Call it a legal union, call it whatever the fuck you want, just not marriage.  I think it would have been passed a lot sooner if they hadn't stubbornly insisted on using that term.

Update

Hey everyone, sorry I haven't written in a while, I just got back from Afghanistan.  It's been a long week  Lots of inprocessing and stuff to do.  I was there for 6 months, and though I was the one that volunteered for the deployment and was really excited to go, mostly to see the country I'd studied so much about, and practice the language with the natives, by about week 3, I was ready to leave.

This is an excerpt from one of my weekly emails home a few weeks before I left:

"Have I mentioned I can’t wait to leave?  It’s not that life is terrible here.  Not anymore anyway, since the last rotation of people left, taking she-who-must-not-be-named (see the note below) with them .  Everyone’s getting along just fine, I have a place to sleep and food to eat.  Not great food - it’s been chicken wings, hamburgers, corn dogs and mini frozen pizzas every day; no fruit or desert and hardy any vegetables – but food nonetheless.  I just think they stopped caring.  There isn’t any one factor in particular that makes me want out.  I’m just restless and yearn for some freedom, the beach, hiking in the mountains, regular clothes and an actual weekend.  I want to hang out with people who aren’t in uniform.  I want to do something outside of this monotony.  I want to be able to jump the rails of this fixed route I must take, stop having to carry this rifle around, stop having to throw myself to the ground in the middle of my night due to an impending rocket attack because some asshole insurgent decided he’d spend $800 on a rocket to shoot at us instead of using that money to educate the next generation of kids who know nothing but war and to whom “making it in life” means selling opium or becoming a corrupt government official."

Note: The unnamed lady in the excerpt was a female supervisor who took an intense dislike to me from the very start and made my life hell while I was there, the single biggest factor in making me good and ready to leave by the end.  She was a very unpleasant person, and just to give you an idea, think Naomi from the movie "Waiting..."  

The personality resemblance was uncanny

Though, other than the perpetual scowl and cigarette smoking, she didn't look much like her.  Plus, she was about a foot taller than Naomi, making her not just mentally but also physically imposing.