Proposition 8: My Thoughts

I understand and respect both sides of the Proposition 8 issue. However, if marriage was traditionally a Christian practice then why are we rewarding that practice with tax breaks, benefits, etc. for married couples? If couples really loved each other and wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, they should be able to do it and not expect financial benefits. I believe that two people, regardless of their sex or sexual orientation, are capable of loving each other. Heterosexual couples marry each other for many reasons other than love. We see television shows about marrying a millionaire, a gorgeous bachelor/bachelorette, and couples marrying because of an unplanned pregnancy, etc. Who is to say that marriage itself is a "sacred" institution that should only be between a man and a woman? Why would any logical person be eager and willing to have the government get involved in their private affairs?

The problem at hand is this: many aspects of our current legal and tax system were created based upon this Christian practice known as marriage. I have no problem welcoming gay marriage and various other gay rights. However, there will need to be massive changes done to our current legal and tax laws. Who will be responsible for paying for that massive change?

I know how we can fund these changes. Since these laws exist based upon the historical Christian practice known as marriage, we should revoke every religion's 501(c)(3). A 501(c)(3) is a federal tax exemption for mostly charities, research organizations and various other organizations that are of some benefit to society. However, how many charitable organizations have the same massive buildings that religious organizations have? Do we see scientists with Armani suits, lavish homes, and flashy automobiles? No. We only see this within religious organizations.

Despite it being a Christian practice, all religious (heterosexual) marriages can enjoy the financial benefits of being married. With that being said, the 501(c)(3) tax exemption for all religions should be revoked. The funds that are created from the taxing of religious institutions should go towards fixing our legal system and tax codes so that people who truly want to get married should be able to do so and do it for the reason that it was originally intended: love.