The religious aspect of same-sex marriage...

Many people view marriage as a sacred religious sacrament. Many argue that the debate on same-sex marriage is so intense because marriage is considered such a sacred institution. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist stated in an interview on ABC: “I very much feel that marriage is a sacrament and that should extend and can extend to that legal entity of a union between what has traditionally in our Western values been defined as between a man and woman. So I would support the amendment [banning gay marriage].” Allowing same-sex couples to marry is unacceptable to religious individuals and organizations because they believe that marriage is sacred and feel that it has been blessed by God. They also believe that it will cease being sacred if God’s laws on marriage are not followed. There is nothing wrong with individuals or churches defining marriage as a sacred institution, but the never-ending debate on same-sex marriage is not about what individuals or private institutions should be doing. It is a debate about how the government should treat people and how the laws on marriage should be written. The religious aspect of this is somewhat understandable, but everyone has their own beliefs. The government should separate itself from the religious institution and not base their decisions on the ideas of religion. The government has to make laws that include every individual and every individual should have equal rights and protection under the law.