PA House TO'd that Senate's version of bigotry bill let's some sinners have rights

There's a fire brewing between Pennsylvania law-makers as the PA Senate passed a version of the state's No Mo Marriage constitutional amendment that *gasp* allows municipalities to recognize and grant rights to people living in sin by registering as domestic partners. The lone dissenter in the senate, Jane Orie (R-Allegheny), decried the senate version for "defeating the purpose" of the amendment by not making it clear that traditional marriage is the only acceptable for people in a relationship to have any legal rights or responsibilities for adults in a romantic relationship, and that municipalities that recognize domestic partnerships undermine the safety of children and threaten to destroy the institution of marriage. After all, if two adults can register as domestic partnership the state no longer has the privelege of preventing people living in sin from obtaining benefits from companies that offer benefits to domestic partners.

Advocates for the original amendment language accused the Senate committee of trying to derail the bill.

"Members who voted for the bill as amended must have had the intent to kill the marriage protection amendment," said Michael Geer, president of the Pennsylvania Family Institute, which defines its mission as strengthening families by restoring traditional values to public life. [Inky]

The only way to prevent further erosion of the sanctity of marriage is to ensure no relationship or living arrangement that is similar to the traditional marriage (two adults living together and, possibly, even having/raising children) are reminded of how they are destroying society by not engaging in acceptable traditional marriage. Based on this thinking, even the House's version of the amendment doesn't quite go far enough to really protect marriage. After all, if people can enjoy a relationship that includes any of the benefits of a tradiional marriage, the institution of marriage is undermined. To be true to their goal of protecting marriage, PA lawmakers need to bring back anti cohabitation and fornication laws, complete with legal penalties against lawbreakers, as well as make other ways to prevent couples to "live in sin" or reap other benefits (sex, having children, etc.) that should be limited to heterosexual couples joined in an acceptable religious ceremony.

Tags: politics; religion; you've got a hypocrite in; marriage; gay; fundamentalism; conservatism; wizzing on some old document

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