Who doesn't back gay marriage?

basically i don't back any marriage, gay or not.

i know i said before i don't have a problem with gay marriage. i don't. or any marriage. i just think it's pointless, and not for me.

I don't think it works to confuse weddings with marriage.

i'm not, wedding rings are permanent displays. the contract doesn't expire after the ceremony. my examples were just a few examples, admittedly i did focus on the wedding, thus causing confusion.

how about joint bank accounts? pointless really. if you don't trust your spouse to be open about your finances what's the point in the marriage? it should be based on trust.
or the wife (or increasingly the husband) taking their partners surname? why? it achieves nothing, it just says "i'm married".

marriage is all about show (in my opinion).

if you truly love someone, you shouldn't need marriage. how you feel about your partner should be written all over how you treat them. the bond goes beyond a contract that somehow legitimises it.

of course move in together, spend the rest of your lives together, have children, watch them grow up and give you grandchildren. your life won't be any better with a bit of paper and a band of gold. it won't be any different at all.

the problem in many jurisdictions is that the bit of paper makes a lot of difference

one of the most important differences, from my perspective, is the ability to be with your partner when they are ill or dying. Many hospitals do not allow anyone outside of legal family to be there at these very difficult times.

until the laws change, marriage is often the only way to obtain the right to be with the person you love when they need you most - or when you need them

and to me, that is yet another reason that marriage is wrong.
you must get married for the state to recognise your relationship. (again it's essentially about show. you have to show you are married for certain rights.)

but in an ever changing world, the need of a legally married status is diminishing. certainly these days, in the UK co-habiting partners have as many rights as married couples. this will spread, and i for one, say that's a good thing.

It's a wonderful institution Berty. I shudder to think of what the chaps I know would have turned out like had they not got a spouse to keep them in some sort of order.

Especially if there were millions of them.

lol institution. i think i need commited to an institution...not that one though, that would drive me even more loony.

if people want to get married i have no issue with it really, these were merely the reasons i will never get married, i personally don't believe it should matter.

and i have absolutely no problem with relationships and people choosing to spend their lives together. you can be kept in line without a marriage certificate

i know i'm just a bitter cynic, that's just who i am.

exactly, the main point of marriage is to assert beings condition for evil life

it is like, u wont b nice or interested to talk to another unless it became ur possession for at least definitive time
so certifyin what come first being opportunism of everything then relative free appreciation could b meant as positive energy to back the evil system up

What alternative do you two suggest?

The authentic hallmark of the "rebel" is the desire to trash things, street furniture, established institutions, without having any idea what to replace them with. A revolutionary does have an alternative program.

like i said...co-habitation. i have no issue with love or relationships, i just see the formality of marriage as pointless, other than as a public display.

Nancy and I celebrated 31 years of blissful "together" on the 3rd of this month. Neither of us ever want a government or a church to say our together is official.

and that's exactly what i'm on about. love is about the bond between to people, not some piece of paper.

it's fine for those who want it, but it shouldn't be necessary.

all i know is, it aint for me.

and it's good to hear you are still together and happy after 31 years.

increasingly rare these days.

i'm not trying to be a rebel. i don't want to trash marriage. that's just my view of it, but like i say, it's fine for those who want it.

i'll shut up now. i've more than said enough

We were in a movie this afternoon (saw "Side Effects"...which was a delight)...and we were holding hands.

Who woulda thunk.

Nancy and I were a blind date at a very, very promiscuous time in my life...and since she is such a nice person, I kinda put her on notice not to take me too seriously. In the early years we use to kid that I would renew "her contract" every two weeks.

But it was a perfect match...and I still think she is the greatest person I've ever known.

y'see? who needs marriage eh?

*edit: i was gonna shut up wasn't i? sorry folks lol

And you married her, right?