Monday, Jan. 8, 2007 | 7:23 a.m.
Let's face it: Today, marriage is nothing more than a secular, contractual obligation between two individuals who wish to unite and share their lives as a single entity. Proof of this lies in the fact that after jumping through legal hoops, these contracts can be dissolved, allowing each individual to go their separate ways. To prohibit these contractual obligations to the gay community violates the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause.
For those who argue that marriage, as an institution, has a traditional connection to religion, I agree. Once we accept this, however, we are left in direct violation of the First Amendment's "separation of church and state" clause. The state must be removed from marriage, leaving control of the institution solely to the religious community.
Then, for those individuals wishing to have a secular involvement, a legal obligation attached to their union, they could still obtain a license from the state. It now, however, would be called a civil union license. This would allow the state to honor the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause by issuing a civil unions license to those in the gay community.
Let's get the government out of the marriage business. Let's return the institution to its traditional roots. A failure to act and to continue with what we have today only feeds into those who wish to discriminate and those who wish to be a victim of said discrimination.
Terry E Peele, Las Vegas
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