Gay Marraige Amendment

[Joe Republic]

No.  It is certainly not worth changing the Constitution over.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

[Joe Republic]

Yes (normal).

Seriously, why?  We all know your personal opinions on the general issue of gay marriage (although Nick surprises me), but do you seriously believe it is worth amending the Constitution for?

[Joe Republic]

why all this discussion about a piece of old, illegal and outdated parchment?

Huh?  Are you referring to the Constitution itself?  I sincerely hope not.

[Joe Republic]

For the record, I was joking about voting Yes (normal).  I was bored and felt like starting a flame war.  I really fall in to the category of "Dont give a sh**t."  Gay Marriage is one of the least important issues to me.

You mean you don't intend to marry another man at some point in the future? 

I know what you mean.  I have the same (lack of) opinion about abortion, for the similar reason that is has nothing to do with me.

[Joe Republic]

I understands that it inflames a lot of people, on both sides, which is why I don't want national enforcement.  I have no problem with a state, e.g. NH, doing it, so long as the don't tell people in another state, e.g. FL, that they have to as well.

Exactly.  Nobody could ever expect Utah and Massachusetts to agree on any social issue; especially this one.  This is very much a states' rights issue.  It's not even an issue for federal statute, much less the friggin' Constitution.

[Joe Republic]

Lovely.  Two women marry in Massachusetts, and have a baby via some artificial means.  After three years, one woman moves to Utah and takes the child along.  She now is a citizen of the State of Utah.

What recourse does the other woman have?

That's an interesting one.  Here's one for you too.

A 17-year-old boy and his 16-year-old girlfriend get married in Mississippi.  They didn't need parental consent because the law of the state allows them to marry at that age anyway.  Now let's say they happen to have a kid, and the wife decides to hightail it with the kid over to her relatives in Texas, where state law dictates that marriage licenses can only be granted to over-18-year-olds, unless parental consent was given.

What recourse does her husband have?

You see, the situation you describe is not an example of something that will begin to happen if gay marriage is permitted, because this kind of legal wrangling is already taking place.

[Joe Republic]

So there you have it.  Surely if a state can recognize out-of-state licenses for what they consider to be minors, then I'm sure it's not so hard for them to recognize out-of-state licenses for gay marriages too.

[Joe Republic]

I didn't say they had to recognize the licenses.  Richius' argument against gay marriage in this case is that it would lead to complicated lawsuits across state borders, where differing laws are the root of the problem.  I counter it by saying that such a situation already exists with regards to minors.