Gay Marriage

I was talking with some of my christian friends the other day and this came up in conversation. Here is a brief look into the conversation that we had:

i agree with a lot of what has been said. Speaking about a specific issue should never take precedence to preaching the gospel unless that issue is a HUGE stumbling block to the person

on some:

yeah, i hear what you're saying about Jesus dying for my sins, but what about my boy over there who is gay? are you saying he can't be saved? Because if that is what you're saying, then i want no part of christianity

But i will say this:


I honestly believe that all of the legal protections afforded heterosexual couples should also be given to homosexual couples.

After a marriage ceremony, does a husband have to wait until the state sends back a copy of his marriage certificate before he can marital tango with his wife (without being in sin)? No.

I say that to show this: Marriage in the eyes of the Lord and marriage in the eyes of the state are two different things.

The state performs "civil unions" and calls them "marriages". We (as believers) sign marriage certificates ONLY because we want to be granted the rights that the state gives people that the state calls married. We want easy inheritances/estate planning, we want hassle-free health insurance for every member our families, etc etc.

I feel like we (christians) are fighting over semantics and i think too much money has been wasted on this fight.

We may ask: "What good is a state marriage license if the Lord views the union as thoroughly sinful?" And my response would be: What good do we do in saying "Well, you can't get married, but you can get this other thing that is just like marriage - but with a different name"? We are wasting millions of dollars and precious legislative time over semantics.

If we agree that there should be no civil/criminal penalty for people who fornicate, divorce or do any other such thing, why not allow the state to recognize the civil union that gays have in the same way that it recognizes the union that straights have?

Will forcing a regard for the Lord in a particular area bring practicing homosexuals any closer to the Lord? Do we gain some sort of "gotcha" pleasure by holding onto this last front in the culture war that we have fought and lost? (i hope not) Do we really think that the legalization of gay marriage will bring about a new wave of evil that is presently unseen in this country?

I'm not trying to say that we shouldn't legislate morality. We do it all the time and we should continue to do it. For example: Even though banning abortion will not change the heart of the mother it will prevent a life from being taken. The only thing that a gay marriage ban accomplishes is making stuff more difficult for gay couples than it has to be.

thoughts?