Although the institution of monogamous marriage is thousands
of years old, the fight for same-sex unions began only in this
generation. What is this fight about? Six years ago, Michael
Signorile, a noted homosexual writer, spoke for himself and
many others when he observed:
"The trick is, gay leaders and pundits must
stop watering the issue down - 'this is simply about equality
for gay couples' - and offer same-sex marriage for what it
is: an opportunity to reconstruct a traditionally homophobic
institution by bringing to it our more equitable queer value
system. Sure, marriage would ensure our inheritance rights,
child-rearing rights, visitation rights, and a slew of financial
benefits that mere "domestic partnership" arrangements
have so far failed to deliver. But it is also a chance
to wholly transform the definition of family in American culture.
Is he right? Is this legislation about transforming the definition
of family in our culture? Let's take a look at the impact this
legislation would have.
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