Give Them Their Rights, But Not Marriage Rights

If I had a chance, I'd ask the world to dance, and I'd be posting with myself.

But, since I have suggested I will blog pretty much daily, I'll post a quick thought tonight, despite having a minus 20 readership.

The marriages are all off. Last week, the court in California said same-sex marriages can go ahead and take place while the decision to throw out Proposition 8 is appealed.

Today, a higher court said, No, let's wait for a decision before allowing these marriages.

And, so how to I feel about same-sex marriages and gay rights? I'm against same-sex marriage, but for many gay rights.

I would also suggest the not-to-long-ago decision by the Salt Lake City Council to grant some rights to gays could give some insight into this issue. I'm in too big of a hurry to go to bed to look it up, but I know when the city council proposed an ordinance, a spokesperson for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints read a statement supporting the ordinance.

That shocked some (well, many).

But the statement noted the ordinance was not allowing same-sex marriages, just assuring certain inalienable rights (I don't believe "inalienable" that was the wording, "normal" may have been.)

The judge who tossed Proposition 8 out a couple weeks ago suggested it is not Constitutional because it doesn't allow the -- for lack of looking up the exact wording -- inalienable rights.

But, from what we learn from the Salt Lake City ordinance case, marriage rights and gay rights are not always the same. My understanding is that Prop 8 is short. It says little but that marriage is between a man and a woman. Does it get into what rights there are for gays in domestic partnerships?

I don't believe so.

If Prop 8 says only that marriage is between a man and woman, then it doesn't delve into the natural rights. Whatever rights are rights remain with the gay whether in a marriage or domestic partnership.

I agree that gays should retain their natural rights. With Prop 8, they lose whatever privileges legally are spelled out in law as being in a marriage, but Prop 8 cannot assume to take away their natural rights.