For years, gay couples fought for the government to recognize their relationships the same way the recognize straight relationships. Although there are still differences between how different sexualities are treated, the core issue has seemingly been resolved. Our government now recognizes gay marriage.
What is marriage? Technically speaking, there are different forms of marriage and different definitions. Many view marriage as a religious status. Marriage can also be a legal status. Usually, there is a ceremony that results in the recognition of both forms of marriage. There are also some who refuse to distinguish between religious marriages and legal marriages.
Legal marriages have two primary components. Obviously, one of those components is that a legal marriage had to be defined. Originally, they defined marriage as being between a man and a woman. It's this definition that was preventing gay couples from marrying.
The other component of legal marriages is that it gives the government a defined status that can be used in various laws. This can have consequences such as different committed couples being treated differently based on this status. It also means that we are effectively giving the government a way to control our personal lives.
Personally, I think that gay marriage emphasized something that I find deeply concerning. The reason gay couples couldn't get married is because legal marriage gave the government the power to regulate private relationships. This is not a power that I want our government to have.
If I entered a committed relationship, I can't imagine demanding to my partner that we must involve the government. I would much rather have the government out of our personal lives. To take this a step further, I would prefer to end marriage as a legal status. Gay couples could enter committed relationships just like straight couples, and the government would be stripped of the power to control their lives.
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