[alexro]

You can call computer a calculator since it does indeed 'calculate' stuff, but you'll be in a minority. Computer's got so much more than a simple calculator, same with marriages - it is much more for a man and woman in every country in the world.

[vidarh]

> it is much more for a man and woman in every country in the world.

In every country in the world? There are a large number of countries that allow marriages that does not meet your definition. Both polygamy and gay marriages.

[ascorbic]

We're not talking about "every country in the world" though. We're talking about England, where your definition has not applied since 2013.

[alexro]

You confusing legal with cultural. If you go around taking about marriage only few will think about gay relationship.

And in any case there is simply no real value for gays to become 'married' other than getting a sticker.

[foldr]

>And in any case there is simply no real value for gays to become 'married' other than getting a sticker.

The "sticker" was a visa in my husband's case. Although the UK does not require you to be married to your partner in order for them to get a visa, you have to provide all kinds of ridiculous documentation in the absence of a marriage certificate. In other countries (e.g. the US), being married is an absolute requirement.

[alexro]

Does it make more sense to change Visa laws to allow more flexible relationships? Would you then not need to be 'married' and just use your partnership status?

[dragonwriter]

No, it doesn't. (Even if we were looking at it from the perspective of the country before same sex marriage was made legal.)

Changing all the specific legal benefits, privileges, and obligations of marriage to be "marriage or partnership" makes less sense than changing the admission criteria for marriage.

I mean, this is a tech forum, right, think about it from DRY perspective.

[Robin_Message]

Amusingly (or not), the UK went to all the effort of introducing "civil partnerships" which involved exactly all that upheaval, about a decade before just introducing equal marriage, which then led to a load more effort to allow porting a partnership into a marriage, as well as leaving partnerships in place for those who do want one or already have one.

[foldr]

I can see how someone might have asked that question in 1995.

Gay marriage is now legal in the UK. Are you suggesting that it would make "more sense" now to abolish gay marriage and try to adjust 100s of other laws and regulations to prevent any disadvantage to gay people? Surely this must be a disingenuous suggestion.

[jarek]

Rather than changing a million regulations that give status to spouses to also include partners, why not just change the definition of a spouse?

[ascorbic]

I don't know what culture you're from, but culture is people, and support for gay marriage has increased massively in countries around the world, and is probably the majority in western Europe and North and South America. If by culture you mean "how things have always been done" then that's saying that public opinion never changes, and that slavery should never have been abolished, women never given the vote etc. Times change, and happily my culture at least is far less homophobic, racist and sexist than it used to be even 30 years ago. There are sadly still areas that are still very homophobic (parts of eastern Europe, Middle East, Africa, the Caribbean, for example), but overall the momentum is in the right direction.

[task_queue]

If you've acknowledged that marriage culturally is a sticker, why care about something so insignificant?

Legally, there is obvious value. Stating such an opinion leads me to believe you are being willfully dishonest in your argument.

[alexro]

It's only a sticker for gays as it doesn't serve any purpose to them. They are pretty good being just in a partnership.

[foldr]

I already gave you an example in another thread of how it serves a purpose for gay people. There are many legal advantages to having your relationship legally recognized. E.g., immigration, hospital visitation rights, ...