At least that is what a couple of college students are trying to do in California.
SACRAMENTO — California’s top election official says supporters can start collecting signatures for a proposed ballot measure to strike the word “marriage” from all state laws.
Supporters of this ballot measure want to replace it with the term “domestic partnership,” while keeping all the rights of marriage in place.
The proposal is in response to a voter-approved gay marriage ban that passed in November. The new measure would repeal the ban, and define domestic partnerships as unions between all couples, regardless of sexual orientation.
Secretary of State Debra Bowen said Tuesday that supporters must gather nearly 700,000 signatures by early August to get the initiative on the ballot.
I would hope there aren’t 700,000 people in California who think this is a good idea. Then again it’s California. While one could argue whether or not government should be involved in marriage, I’ve wondered that myself. The fact is they have been involved, and as a result there is the potential of major consequences – family breakdown, looseness of how domestic partnerships can be defined, etc.
This seems akin to curing the headache by chopping off the head. What do you think?
On a related note, there is a bill being proposed in the Iowa Senate by Senator Matt McCoy (D-Des Moines) that would remove the words “husband” and “wife” from Iowa laws, and replace them with the word spouse. Stop. Drinking. Kool-Aid.
