Scraps from the table

[mothwing]

Can someone kindly explain to me, please, please how homosexuals marrying harms the protection of the family that the German and EU government think is so important they keep quoting it in this context?

I know I am probably annoying and boring everyone with the sudden outburst of LGBT rights-related issues, and I am trying to keep them as low as I used to, but I'm going insane with trying to see the sense in the arguments. It. Does. Not. Harm. Families. And nor does it mean that families as they are and marriages as they are are somehow invalidated or defiled or desecrated. Seriously. "Homosexuals can't procreate and hence not really have a family", seems to be the sole reason, really. I'd like to see all those people who are married and not procreating stripped of some of their rights, then, please.

The best thing about this - German law does not actually take the trouble to define what a "marriage" is, they just say that everyone has a right to have one - oh, the fucking irony, as I quite apparently do not. The only thing which brings "man" and "woman" into it are the legal commentaries - and the ECHR, which is apparently designed to be especially explicit and has,

"Men and women of marriageable age have the right to marry and to found a family, according to the national laws governing the exercise of this right." (Article 12 ECHR)

... although that still does not say that they have to marry each other, but again, the commentaries. But of course, since we have now been graciously offered the chance to get a civil union, we "can't complain".
I wonder how long that will take to be changed - but considering how long it's taken for women to be allowed to work or vote it might just take a wee while.

Comments

[firenightingale.livejournal.com]

I really don't see why gay couples have to have civil unions instead of marriages either. The only real reason seems to be that the major religious groups don't like it. It's not harming the family at all - it's not as if people are going to turn around and go "Oh right, I can't marry my same sex partner so I'll turn straight and live my life how you want me to then." It's also not as if it makes a blind bit of difference to the family life of anyone else. It just offends the bigots who don't like to think that consenting adults should be able to live their lives in a way other than the way they chose to live themselves.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

It is the major religious groups, yep, and that our conservative Christian lobby is still so big in Germany really makes me ashamed sometimes, as they portray something as a "norm" which is completely out-dated and has been for the last thirty years (married parents, woman at home or being a part-time working Mum, 1.3 kids and a dog). They're irrational to a point where I can't even follow their reasons anymore, but I think that's always the case with very conservative parties. :) And the "no other alternative"-thing - there are plenty of people who think like that, still, who think that it's a question of choice. We'll simply have to be patient and wait for them to die out.