Why Marriage Matters

From Andew Sullivan's Blog: A reader writes: I'll be honest, there was something about the pro gay marriage argument I didn't quite get until recently. I've always detested the hate and illogical arguments spewing from the Right, and found Bush-Rove's cynical use of the issue in '04 sickening. Ultimately though I found it to be one of those debates, fueled by culture war nonsense, where both sides just ended up talking past each other. We've reached a point where many social conservatives don't deny the need to give gay couples hospital visitation rights, survivor benefits, and all the other legal protections of marriage, yet the Left seemed content blowing past a fertile middle ground in favor of what seemed to me to be largely a semantical argument. Why not secure gays the basic rights they've been denied and worry about what name is given to their relationship down the road? Surely when those under 40 become the generation over 40, the controversy over calling it marriage will seem almost quaint. In the hellish months of planning my wedding in June, I found myself quoting Chris Rock to my friends -- can't get sent to war, can't get married, sign me up. Maggie and I started living together in 2004, and for years we shared expenses and were secure in our commitment to spend our lives together. So besides spending a chunk of our savings on the wedding and developing a strained relationship with my parents (it's the nature of the beast someone won't like the wedding plans) I didn't see how my life was going be radically altered by marriage. Well, as anyone whose been married knows, I was wrong. Full Story from the Daily Dish: http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/09/marriage-matters.html

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