[Dominic Harr]

I should be able to enter into a contract that emulates the civil components of the marriage contract (not to be confused with the sacred, spiritual, sexual, or other components) with anyone I choose.

Agreed.

Isn't this 'social engineering'? This is a politically liberal thing to do -- using the power of govt to sanction victimless behavior "for the good of society".

Social conservatives are not always political conservatives.

Socially, I believe in 'live and let live'. If someone is not directly harming others with their actions, then the federal govt has no right to regulate that behavior.

This just pushes me even farther away from the R party. They have abandoned the 'contract with america' political conservatives. Now, they make it clear they're for 'social engineering'.

Someone on another thread put it perfectly: The party I voted for in '94 has become the party I voted against.

[puroresu]

Name a jurisdiction with gay "marriage" that isn't economically liberal. Can you even imagine a place with gay "marriage" being fiscally conservative?

[George W. Bush]

Socially, I believe in 'live and let live'. If someone is not directly harming others with their actions, then the federal govt has no right to regulate that behavior.

Yes, they do. There are all sorts of consensual relationships that are forbidden or regulated.

You're not a Republican, I think. You're a Libertarian. So are several others on this thread. Republicans have never pretended to be libertines.