Canada Will Let Gays Wed
Canada has decided to let homosexuals get married. No "civil union" non-sense, but a real honest-to-goodness marriage. Under international law, the US may be required to acknowledge these marriages on a par with heterosexual unions done at city hall. Religious institutions in Canada will still be able to deny gays a wedding ceremony. Three cheers for the Dominion, and three cheers of the Bronx variety for the opponents of the idea.
The chief objection to the concept appears to be the moral one -- that homosexuality is wrong. One is not interested in arguing the point, but the fact is that marriage in the eyes of the state has nothing to do with morality -- that state is not competent to judge. It is a legal and exclusive contract between two people that impose duties upon and provides benefits to the couple -- no more no less. If all adults are legally equal, then they must be able to enter into such a contract equally.
The moral objection can only apply in the case of religious marriages, where the institution can make whatever pronouncements it wishes regarding right and wrong, and enforce its views as it chooses. Thus, gays should not be allowed a Catholic church wedding, although that any gays remain members of the Church of Rome never fails to astonish. Having accepted the teachings of that brand of Christianity, one must live by them.
On the other hand, definite social good arises from permitting homosexual marriage. Property rights, especially inheritances, become clearer. As for the stability of the family unit, half of heterosexual marriages end in divorce in the US -- can the gays do much worse? Moreover, when one part of the adult population is denied the right to freely enter into a contract, where does that leave the rest of America?