Other Non-Biblical Marriages We Don’t Criminalize

h/t to Stephen Eyer for sharing this NPR comment , by Annie Williams:

“When you cut through all the rhetoric, there is only one reason you would deny gay couples the right to marry: bigotry.

It is wrong for one group of people to deny basic civil rights to another group because they do not share your religious beliefs. And that is exactly what this boils down to: legislating religion.

Two gay people marrying does not diminish the marriage of two straight people. If that were possible, the two straight people have much bigger problems than the marriage of their gay neighbors down the street. Please do not tell me it’s against the Bible. If that were the case you would be trying to pass laws to disallow Buddhist marriage (not Biblical), Atheist marriage (not Biblical), Shinto marriage (not blessed by Jesus), and Wiccan marriage (witch marriage).

You have learned to get along with all types of people in society, and you have learned to live in a world that supports all kinds of things that go against your religion.

This is just one more thing. Get over it, and move on to something that is truly worthy of your time and money, like feeding the poor, building homes for the homeless, and caring for the ill and dying.

Please, please, do not use the laws of our country to deny basic human rights. The constitution guarantees the right to the pursuit of happiness. By outlawing gay marriage, you are denying that right. Gay people already live together as if they are married. They get up, go to work, earn a living, and go home to their families every day, just like you do.

Outlawing gay marriage is not going to change that, or make them go away. The only thing outlawing gay marriage does is deny other people the right to the same type of life you live. Please, live your life, and let gay people live theirs in an equally dignified and honorable way.”