I Am Not For 'Gay Marriage'

I am for Marriage Equality! The term 'gay marriage' sounds like a special marriage just for gays - something aside from, less than, or otherwise removed from what we now consider marriage. I don't believe that the gay & lesbian community want anything special or different. What they want, and what should be afforded all Americans under our Constitution, is EQUALITY - not only marriage equality, but equal rights across the board. And lets not confuse civil marriage with religious marriage. For those churches who wish not to perform same sex marriages, then they should retain the right not to perform those marriages. You see, I also believe VERY strongly that religion has NO place in government. So even after the civil institution of marriage is made available to same sex couples, churches will be able to - and should be able to decide for themselves whether or not to perform these ceremonies. For those couples desiring religious affirmation of their marriage, there are already churches willing to perform same sex marriages. I hear time and time again from opponents to marriage equality, that gay and lesbian couples should just be happy with commitment ceremonies and other private, (non  legally recognized) celebrations. This isn't just about a piece of paper - it's about the federal rights that come along with that piece of paper; the rights that protect a person financially in the event their spouse dies, i.e. social security, pensions, etc, the right to be involved and make decisions medically in the event their spouse cannot make those decisions, the right to file joint tax returns, obtain employer sponsored benefits such as maternity/paternity leave, insurance, etc. It's about two people co-habitating and sharing finances and civil responsibilities and having the same benefits provided to other married couples. As for the moral argument against marriage equality, live according to whatever rules you wish, but realize that your beliefs aren't universal and that you have no right to force your morality on others. And as for the marriage protection argument... according to the US Census Bureau, marriage is in trouble already - the median length of marriages in the US that ended in divorce was 8.1 years, and in a study done in 2007, for every 100 marriages in the US, 49 end in divorce. So this sacred heterosexual institution isn't doing so hot the way it is now. The fact is, marriage equality isn't going to harm the institution of marriage at all, and allowing the re-writing of the Constitution to deny rights to any group of Americans only stands to hurt us all eventually.