Government should get out of the marriage business entirely.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier has just gotten quite a bit of company: As many as 6,600 graves at the country’s hallowed Arlington National Cemetery for fallen U.S. service members may be mislabeled, one lawmaker said on Thursday.Political movements are becoming ever more like a match tossed into a room full of dynamite: No matter which stick you are aiming for, chances are a lot of others will fire off, too.A drama about a woman diagnosed with terminal cancer doesn’t exactly sound like the most entertaining new series on the fall prime-time slate. But there is more buzz surrounding Showtime’s “The Big C” than perhaps any other series premiering this season, and the incomparable Laura Linney is a major reason why the series is high on critics’ must-see lists.Although facts on the famed Clinton-Mezvinsky wedding, which is rumored to happen this weekend, are tighter than Hillary Clinton’s smile, some details have leaked out. Sources report that groom Marc Mezvinsky has “hurt” his father’s family by not inviting them to the wedding (Ed Mezvinsky pleaded guilty in 2002 to swindling investors out of $10 million.For Paul Rudd, the decision to star in Jay Roach’s new comedy, “Dinner for Schmucks,” was an easy one. “I thought the script was really funny,” he says. “That was it. It was kind of a no-brainer.” Of course Rudd, who’s built an impressive resume of smart comedies, was just as enamored of the man behind the camera. Subletting in NYC typically involves some kind of covert transaction. Try to find a budget traveler who hasn’t enjoyed the risk of Craigslist’s lease-free rentals. But thanks to a bill Gov. David Paterson signed into law last Friday, renting an apartment for less than 30 days isn’t kosher. Fortunately, there’s a saving grace for those in search of short-term living: Jersey City.New claims for unemployment benefits slipped last week, but stayed at a stubbornly high level that underscored the labor market recovery was having trouble gaining traction.Could nail mats like the Acushakti be the next Snuggies?Unless the locals covered you in meatballs and sang “Nessun Dorma” upon arrival, this vacation could hardly be more Italian. For this is a “Vespa vacation” — a two-wheeled tour of the nooks and crannies, the winding back roads and the off-the-beaten-track hidden gems of breathtaking Umbria, a beautiful region located in Central Italy.For many job-hopping careerists, smuggling a resignation letter in their bag like a guilty secret, there are few workplace rituals so hard as saying so long.
Government should get out of the marriage business entirely.
Only in America could we take a battle around love and sex and family and turn it into a debate on parliamentary procedure. But there it was: Minutes after California’s Supreme Court upheld the anti-gay-marriage Prop 8, someone popped up on my TV proclaiming: “The real issue here is whether voter referendums should be able to overturn the rights of minorities!”
Um, no. No offense to constitutional scholars, but it seems like the real issue is about two things: acceptance and rights. On the acceptance front, all signs are that things are changing, with polls showing the younger generation is far more OK with same-sex couples. It’s in rights that these couples are getting screwed — I recently had to write an affidavit of support for a friend to adopt her own son, which is a new level of nuts.
But repealing Prop 8 wouldn’t actually make a difference here, because California domestic partner-ships already provide the exact same state benefits as marriage. “This entire fight in California is over the ‘M’ word,” notes writer and gay-rights advocate Alisa Solomon. It’s the symbolism of an entire state dissing same-sex couples that is so galling; and, for that matter, the symbolism of the state granting not just equal rights but equal blessing that’s allowed the anti-gay side to garner so much support.
With this in mind, one growing idea is to bypass the entire debate by getting the government out of the marriage business entirely — domestic partnerships for all, in other words. “Holy matrimony should be decoupled from state marriage licenses for everyone,” says Solomon.
“Have it in your church or mosque or what have you, and fight that battle there.” That would free us to focus on ensuring that same-sex couples -— and for that matter, unmarried mixed-sex couples — have equal access to things like Social Security benefits and hospital visitation rights, without anyone getting their knickers in a twist over who’s a “wife” and who’s a “partner.”
Repealing Prop 8 would be a powerful statement in support of equality. But in the end, the separation of marriage and state might just be more valuable.
|
|
| Advertise with us | About Metro | Contact us | Careers | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service | Classified Advertising © Copyright 2010 Metro International |
|
In the July MMMpod, Young Veins talk about breaking away from Panic! at the Disco, Keith Lockhart talks about Buckwheat Zydeco throwing the Boston Pops for a loop, Zooey Deschanel talks about how Roy Orbison inspired a She & Him song, Derek Miller of Sleigh Bells talks about how awesome Funkadelic is, and we talk about how awesome Jimmy Cliff is, who in turn talks about Sam Cooke and divine intervention. An explosive show for July! Oh yeah, and we also test your knowledge of America songs in the MMMPod medley.
