Same sex marriage has been legal here for more then 10 years and absolutely none of the concerns raised by Omega and other have been shown to be the true. Children of same sex marriages are doing absolutely fine in school and life, and there haven't been any people calling to be wed with cartoon characters (hihi). If anything... all the 'dangers' concerning the 'gay lifestyle' (mostly STD concerns) have been minimizing by making same sex marriage legal, there is no secrecy any more and gay people can start building a secure future for themselves and their families. All these slippery slope arguments just don't go up in real life.
I don't really have a horse in this race...but just as a point of clarification...
It may be true that YOU havn't heard of anyone "calling to be wed with cartoon characters"...but there HAS already been some people who *have* gone through ceremonies to "marry" their "virtual girlfriends"...
Now, it's only an extremely few people now...but what happens when it becomes more common? What happens when the technology improves? What happens when they become more realistic?
You can come up with all the logical arguments as to why it's not the same...*AND I WOULD AGREE WITH YOU*... But *TO THEM* it's different. And they might someday be able to set up a very logical argument as to why they should get benefits to take care of their "mates". This would make *ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE TO ME WHATSOEVER*...it would be the most stupid and illogical thing ever. But I don't see it as being any more "out in left field" than the idea of same sex marriage was 50-100 years ago.
Personally, it doesn't matter to me. Marriage has become less about "family" and more about "benefits"....it's become so secularized that I cannot see for the life of me why religion is even in the process at all.
In my opinion, legal aspect of marriage should be handled by lawyers...not priests. Don't they call it a "marriage contract"? Why not take that to the next logical step? A marriage contract should be just that...a *contract* drawn up by two agreeing parties. If said parties then wish to have their marriage vows done in front of whatever God they worship, they can have a religious ceremony if they wish. But even now, you're *technically* married the moment you sign the licence...not necessarily the moment you say your "I do's" in front of a priest. I don't see why they don't just make the legal aspect of it a contract like any other, and the religious angle can be handled however you wish.
I don't condone homosexuality...but I don't see it as any worse than a man and woman living together without being married....or sex before marriage....etc..etc...
At the end of the day, I view "same sex marriage" as a political issue, *NOT* a religious issue...and since my deeply held personal beliefs are that religion and politics don't mix....all this bickering just makes me happy to be completely apolitical.