*MEEEEPP!!!* Marriage has been recogniced in every culture, it has most likely been there before religions! It is NOT a religious thing. It is a social and cultural institution and religion has no monopoly on it. It also has no monopoly on other values the modern societies make so why the heck should it have it with this one. It isn't "just the matter of being in love". We are cultural and social animals, living in societies where it counts every day if you are married or not - it affects how people perceive you. I think people would stop believing gay and lesbian peopleare irresponsible sexmaniacs sleeping around and hanging in the bars to pick up new partners if it was recognised that they have families and live normal lives. And it's not just the economy of the family and health insurances and stuff, it's also their for the best for their kids. If the couple should divorce, the child whould have a legal right to a non-biological parent she/he has been living with and this parent to her/his child to meet them and seek joint custody.
So you think laws concerning sexual practices or preferences usually are fair and rational and work in effect?
Sodomy laws have been repealed—or are ignored—in most states, but not Georgia, where a man was sentenced not long ago to five years in prison for engaging in oral sex. With his wife. With her consent. In their home. His predicament has apparently been a source of considerable amusement to other inmates.
In the state of Washington there is a law against having sex with a virgin under any circumstances (including the wedding night).
As recently as 1990, these states had laws against heterosexual fellatio, cunnilingus, anal sex and the use of dildos: Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Washington D.C.
In Mississippi, S & M is against the law. Specifically, "The depiction or description of flagellation or torture by or upon a person who is nude or in undergarments or in a bizarre or revealing costume for the purpose of sexual gratification."
http://www.dribbleglass.com/subpages...ge/sexlaws.htm