Posted by
J. H. Ward on Tuesday, October 28, 2008 12:11:05 PM
Before Utah could be admitted to the Union, it had to ban poligamy. Note that poligamy is in the Old Testiment and in the Koran. Both are against homosexuality.
If you want to broaden your religious views, there are several that have no particular view of heterosexuality or homosexuality and some have no problem with interspecies sexuality.
Marriage is considered by most Christian religions as a sacrament, and if you check it out it is one of two that are administered by the non-clerics. Marriage to the state is a contract that has specific terms and conditions and confers specific rights and obligations. Like most things legal it is a matter of custom and common law as well as specific legislation.
The biggest problem is the "full faith and credit" clause in the Constitution. While there are specific exceptions in general it merely means that things legal in one state cannot be considered non-legal in another as far as transience is concerned. One noted exception (and many wonder if this is right) is concealed carry which may be legal in your state, but not in mine.
So the concept of "gay marriage" is of two parts, one the religious and the other civil. No legislation can decree what the religious ruling can be - that's the First Admendment and no religion can decree what is and is not a marriage, that is also the First Amendment.
So as to the legality, it becomes a community concern and the community will decide what it considers norms for recognition. This means that the legal considerations are the only hazzard to "non normal" marriages i.e. inheritance, authority and so on. In some cases there are laws (bigamy) against poligamy or polyandry but in some jurisdictions (notably Texas) it is a wink, wink type of thing.
Having a law that recognizes or does not recognize a particular type of marriage is normal for this country, but would be out of place in the Constitution. While there are several amendments that concern individual actions, the Constitution is a document that is a limit on the Federal government.