Someone who supports civil unions but opposes gay marriage

[Antonio the Sixth]

I think I might support the state only recognizing civil unions that would apply the same way to straight and gay couples.

Marriage can be left to churches or anyone else who wants it. The latest development in Sweden where gays are getting married in churches I don't totally get, to be honest (unless they're actually Christian, but rather few seems to be).

Wait, in Sweden the State mandates churches to celebrate gay marriages even if they don't want to ? That makes no sense.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Gustaf I'm pretty sure churches are themselves allowed to choose wether to marry gay couples (99,8%) It's as you say just the Church of Sweden being PC who do it. 

But can they refuse and retain the marriage license? (that is, the marriage being recognized as legal by the state)

There was definitely a discussion about a law that would revoke it in those cases, but I don't recall where that eventually ended.

Fundamentally, it seems a bit unworkable for the state to sanction gay marriage and then having the churches acting as state agents giving out marriage licenses but not adhering to that law. Personally, I think the solution to that is to separate those two concepts.

That is quite silly indeed. Religious marriages shouldn't have any civil value, they are two separate things. Let the churches perform the marriages they want, how they want. But for the legal stuff, churches shouldn't be involved to begin with.

[Antonio the Sixth]

Gustaf I'm pretty sure churches are themselves allowed to choose wether to marry gay couples (99,8%) It's as you say just the Church of Sweden being PC who do it. 

But can they refuse and retain the marriage license? (that is, the marriage being recognized as legal by the state)

There was definitely a discussion about a law that would revoke it in those cases, but I don't recall where that eventually ended.

Fundamentally, it seems a bit unworkable for the state to sanction gay marriage and then having the churches acting as state agents giving out marriage licenses but not adhering to that law. Personally, I think the solution to that is to separate those two concepts.

That is quite silly indeed. Religious marriages shouldn't have any civil value, they are two separate things. Let the churches perform the marriages they want, how they want. But for the legal stuff, churches shouldn't be involved to begin with.

Yeah, that's basically my view as well. The root of this problem is probably that we didn't have separation of state and church in Sweden until the year 2000.

2000, really ? Well, after all, that's still better than most European countries...