Gay Marriage: A Different Conservative View

Conservatives may want to consider a few things when taking a position on same sex marriage.  I was pretty vocal for many years about my opposition even to freinds and family members who are living an alternative lifestyle.  I consider marriage to be a religious sacrament and one not to be taken lightly.  My wife and I were married in the catholic church where sacraments are a top priority.  It seemed that same sex couples cannot be married unless we change the definition of marriage.  While I maintained my position, I truly have no ill will for gay and lesbian couples.  I don't believe that God hates anybody for any reason and we are all brothers and sisters in some sense.

There is much more to the issue of same sex marriage when we consider the tax codes, laws, customs, and personal liberty.  The tax code has evolved over time and married couples have been given certain advantages over single folks.  The reason is mainly political rather than logical.  Our tax laws have been created based on getting votes for our law makers instead of common sense or fairness.  Ask yourself:

• Did our founding fathers intend on one group of Americans paying more taxes than others based on their marital status?
• Putting the same sex marriage issue aside, should single Americans pay a higher tax rate than married couples?
• Does a same sex couple present a higher risk to an insurance company than a married couple?

  I was perplexed when a man I knew was dying in the hospital and his partner of many years was not able to access any information regarding his condition because they were not "family". The doctors would not talk to him and I found the whole thing really disturbing.  The hospital was bound by laws and could not release information and the dying man (who was in a coma) had nobody else to look after his affairs.

 I also wonder why the government issues marriage licenses anyway.  If marriage is a religious sacrament, why does the government have any say in it at all.  This sounds like our government is taking a stance or affiliating itself with the establishment of religion.  My thoughts are simple marriage license = tax revenues.    To many Americans, marriage is more of a contract than a sacrament.  The non-religious get married for a whole host of reasons including tax advantages, insurance advantages, estate and financial planning ect.  They also stay single for similar reasons especially if they are on public assistance.

The new amendment in North Carolina seems to go beyond protecting marriage as a sacrament.  It does not allow rights to be achieved by contract or civil union either.  Do we seek to punish gays in the name of conservatism?  Do we believe all men are created equal or not?  How can we defend the constitution and all the personal liberties associated with it while disallowing a segment of our citizens to struggling to manage basic financial matters.  Simple boiler plate contracts could be very helpful in helping gay and lesbian couples solve some basic issues without offending social conservatives.   Insurance companies, lead by market driven purpose, could allow gay and lesbian couples to enroll with the same benefits as traditional couples.

Bottom line:  What do I care if a gay couple has a church that will marry them?  What if they have a contract or civil union to help them manage their lives?  I'm not mad at them, I don't care what their sexual practices are, and I frankly prefer to mind my own business.  I'm a political conservative who believes in a smaller less intrusive government, personal freedom and liberty, lower taxes, and personal responsibility.  I believe the federal government should do only those things the constitution empowers it to do.  I don't believe in trying to legislate morality since it is so deeply steeped in religion for some and not at all for others.  I welcome your comments whether you disagree or agree.