  To find myself suddenly struggling to welcome gay marriage?
(188 Posts) grovel Tue 11-Dec-12 13:44:50  My initial reaction
was "fine". As I think about it, I become rather sad that we are
losing a distinctive quality in the meaning of marriage - namely
that it celebrates how men and women complement each other (not
only for purposes of procreation).  In every way I want equal
recognition of partnerships be they straight or gay. Why then am
I sad about changing the meaning of a word?  Devora Thu
13-Dec-12 12:12:32  I completely understand your point, Cat, but
disagree that it is as significant as you believe. Removing the
legal requirement for consummation for heterosexual marriage
will make not the slightest difference to 99.9% of the
population.  What it may do is provide another lever for
clearer, more rational separation of church and state in
marriage as in other public institutions. That is far more
significant.  CatWithKittens Thu 13-Dec-12 12:04:19  Devora -
That is not the point. It is not whether