Interesting questions, but they don't address the real issue, which is the FUTURE of our society. Men and women currently married were married under the old system, based on traditional cultural values.
The more important question is what our society will look like ten years from now, after we reduce marriage to the temporary joining of any number of people for whatever reason they find mutually beneficial (and that's exactly where we're headed). What will our young people think of marriage then? It will no longer be looked upon as the joining of one man and one woman and the binding force of the nuclear family.
Marriage provides an important purpose in all societies. It defines when sex is considered acceptable behavior and when it is not. Although obviously not all people respect the limitation of sex within marriage, it sets a standard for what most in society consider proper.
The primary goal of gay marriage activists is to break down traditional standards for sexuality. For them, it's not enough that we tolerate their private behavior in the bedroom. They want society's stamp of approval on their sexual practices. And that will be our loss if we allow it to happen. Gay marriage is not about hospital visitation rights. It is about cultural approval of their sexual practices.
One of the reasons the institution of marriage has fallen so far is that it is seen as being a union of two people, rather than the foundation of a family. A family isn't just about the parents, or even just about the parents and their immediate offspring. It's about producing a knit fabric of people which also include aunts, uncles, neices, nephews, cousins, grandchildren, in-laws, and other relations.
Marriage has strayed a long way from where it needs to be. But accepting same-sex "marriage" will make it even harder to get back.
No, it's not. It's about money.
It's about spousal benefits for insurance, retirement, social security, and other entitlement/benefit programs.
Government and society grant certain benefits to married couples because, as stated earlier, most cultures and religions have recognized marriage to be the best method of perpetuating the society. (Even though not all marriages result in children, odds are that many or most will.)
Homosexuality by definition does not perpetuate the society, which is one reason most religions and societies have prohibitions against it. Homosexuals want the benefits married couples get, but they don't benefit society in return.
Actually, I don't believe they would even be able to demand marriage or civil unions if not for the current cultural decline, and the fact that "the joining of one man and one woman and the binding force of the nuclear family" is much weaker than it used to be.
Many couples now choose not to have children. Where I teach, very few of the children live with both parents, and some don't even have fathers listed on their birth certificates. We can't really claim that marriage perpetuates the society, because so many of those who are perpetuating the society aren't remaining married.