Government should not support any form of marriage. Marriage is a religious sacrament.

I totally agree. In ages past that's the way it used to be & if we trully believe in seperation of church & state then the government should also stay out the the churches business.
Currently seperation of church & state is only one sided & biased.

[...] lot of the argument on the CNN site surrounds several issues.  The first seems to be whether or not marriage is a secular or sacred [...]

How can Gay marriage hurt….that alone can not hurt anybody …but their kids.

There is NO WAY that a child raised in a gay household can grow up normal.

As far as hurting us Americans…YES of course that are a lot of problems out there, gay marriage is just part of the moral decay…violence is also part of it…political correctness is also a part of it…smoking is another, not stopping illegal immigrants from coming in and not sending them back is also a part of our decay….etc etc….so many things these days contribute to the moral decay of America…not just gay marriage alone, but why contribute to it with gay marriage.

Constitutional Amendment is what we need….we need to at least try and save our society.

I don't always agree with Bush…that's for sure, but I am glad he was
able to put in 2 Supreme Court Justices…I like these guys already.

By the way…I am not from the south, I am from California, and a moderate Democrat.

I'm frightened by the many comments about "moral decay" as related to homosexual couples. Wouldn't opening our arms to people of difference orientations constitute a moral strengthening? I'm not a Christian, but I still think we should love one another.

As to marriage being a religious versus secular sacrament, I would say that it's both. Marriage has been adopted by the government as a way of categorizing citizens and is used to determine taxes, among other things. Thus, although the religious among us prefer to name marriage a religious institution, the fact is that our society has come to recognize and, more importantly, utilize marriage in extra-religious contexts. We can no longer consider it purely religious.

I do want to point out that although we might be tempted to applaud Mrs. Edwards for "speaking her feelings," it is likely that she had political motivations for making that statement. Politics is so highly composed of strategy these days that I would hesitate to consider any action unmotivated.

Lastly, I hope we will be more open-minded in the future. I see no way in which banning homosexual union will help anyone or strengthen morality or religion. I also see no way in which maintaining such a hatred for this already targeted community can be labeled positively.

I hope that currently rising generation, of which I am a member, will be more open than our parents.

I would like someone to tell me how same sex marriages would be so bad for this country. I hear it time and time again but no one will give an answer that makes sense. Anyone getting married must get a marriage license. You can marry in a church, a courthouse, or wherever but it's still not legal unless you obtain a license. That's government at work. There is no mention that you have to have religion or a church involved. So why does everyone always bring the church into the discussion. And also, how does same sex marriages hurt me/you?

To Bruce in Jamaica Plains - I could say how you thought what I said sounded sexist. I just meant that most interpretations of the bible have been done by men, not that men have been the only oppressors in the world.

I believe gay marriage is a constitutional right. But lately I have begun to agree that the answer to the debate in this country is to separate marriage and civil unions… for all couples. Civil unions should be through the state and open to heterosexual couples and homosexual couples alike. Individual religions can then choose to whom they will offer marriage ceremonies.

As a straight Christian who belongs to a church that welcomes and embraces gay couples (and I'm sure would marry them if it could), I would never belong to one that did not. The fact that people spew hate in this forum under the name of religion is beyond me.

Dang, LM in Durham! Are you in my brain thinking my thoughts? Nicely put.

LM of Durham NC: I agree with you on every point. The only thing I would add or say differently is "Frightened, controlling men…" Women too have been guilty of oppression, racism, sexism and all of that, it's not just men.
Anyway - In our society as well as most if not all western societies - marriage is a CIVIL UNION that for people of faith has a RELIGIOUS SIGNIFICANCE. To Shawnie: Marriage in the Bible is not necessarily difined as just one man/one woman and not all Christian leaders interpret the scriptures in this way. I am a very devout Christian and the church I go to, although predominantly straight performs more same-gendered marriages then opposite gendered marriages. Read about David and Jonathan's relationship in the Old Testament. In regards to John Edwards, I personally suspect that in his heart of hearts, he supports marriage equality, he's just smart enough to know that that would be political suicide at this point in history - same for Obama and Clinton. I have no proof of this, just my personal opinion.

I loved the comment by steven of brentwood, who apparently is busy "saving moral decay." Way to go, steve. When you get a lot of that moral decay stuff saved up, what do you plan to do with it?

This article states that ' No serious presidential candidate from either major political party has publicly supported gay marriage." that is not true. Barack Obama clearly states that he supports gay marriage.

Conservatives say liberals are sticking their noses into every aspect of society. That's actually the opposite of the truth. What a liberal supports is the right of all people to make individual choices, including about things like gay marriage or what God to believe in.

What most conservatives want is the right to believe what they believe and then make everyone else conform to those beliefs. Liberals aren't asking you, personally, to do anything you don't believe in. Don't enter into a gay marriage, don't have an abortion, etc. if you don't want to. What they want is for everyone to have the right to make those decisions for themselves. It's called freedom and it's what our country is based on.

Any person who says that they want to legislate(such as by a constitutional amendment that defines what marriage is) what others do is essentially against freedom, and since it is the foundation of our country, they are against our country. You can't say you love our country and then ignore the very principles upon which it is based.

Don't bother citing your religious beliefs in answer to this post. Jesus opened his arms to everyone. He would have had no problem with accepting people, regardless of their sexual preference. Frightened, controlling men have interpreted the bible in a self-serving way across history, but that doesn't make those interpretations the truth.

The sad truth is that in America we have given up our right to ban anything. We have given in to political correctness, regardless of scenario or circumstance.

While I believe marriage is a legal AND religious event, the fact of the matter is that a church has to decide whether to allow a same sex marriage ceremony and the state need only determine if it will allow said union to be binding and legal. I do believe that heterosexual couples should be given the same rights as married couples, however, I think the churches should stand strong against the minority and outlaw such unions in the house of God.

In the end this will turn out just as every other semi-religious debate, with those of high moral fiber taking a back seat to the "progressive thinking" political activists who think that political correctness = fairness and equality.

Steven in Brentwood-
We're talking about two people who love each other. It's about love. What is immoral about that? Your discomfort does not equal immorality, by the way. I hate to break it to you, but same-sex marriage is not the cause of America's problems. We have bigger things to worry about. If you're so worried about moral decay maybe we should concentrate on divorce. It seems that is a bigger problem, no? I mean if you are going to regulate marriages, why not enforce them? Wouldn't it be in the country's interest to lower the divorce rate. We heterosexuals haven't done too well with it. Let's give gays a shot at it. With their help we could get the divorce rate down a couple points. Whattya say?

I love all this talk of "moral decay", etc. Let's see…we live in a society that celebrates violence every day on television. We celebrate greed by rewarding morally bankrupt corporations like Walmart with HUGE profits. We don't care that our president lied - and continues to lie - about a war that has destabilized an already unstable region of the world, all the while hiding behind religion and patriotism (nationalism!) to advance his agenda. And guess who benefits? Not the thousands of dead soldiers or hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis. Nope. Big, greedy corporations. Moral decay? How about a society that doesn't care that 1/6th of its citizens have no health coverage? Or a society that has sacrificed basic and fundamental values, like the right to privacy, out of fear. For the most "free" country on Earth, we sure are monitored and spied upon quite heavily these days - all without court orders! Is this the Soviety Union or the United States? But none of these things are the REAL problem. After all, gay marriage most certainly will be the end of us…

One of the easily solvable problems with this issue is the use of the word "marraige." The many federal laws that grant couples particular rights use the word "marraige" because the term "civil union" had not yet been coined to distinguish unions recognized by the government. If these laws were updated to read "civil union" in place of "marraige," gay couples could attain equal federal rights with civil unions, and religions organizations can retain the word "marraige" if they so choose. The government could deal solely with unions, regardless of sex, to officially establish the separation of legal benefits from religious sacrament. There would be fewer semantic debates and more rational discussion.

I notice that a majority of those who oppose gay marriage are from the south, or rural areas and are Christian. I hate to break it to Christians, but Marriage has been around before your religion was even conceived and before mine (I am Jewish). I see nothing wrong with people wanting to make commitment and having the law in their favor. Its called equal rights. But these are the same people who believe African Americans and Caucasians shouldn't marry. Narrow Mindedness will survive through all generations. Shame. Shame. Shame.

It is only a matter of time before norms change and the LGBT community will be embraced and accepted.

There was a time in the not to distant past, about 50 years ago, when it was deemed immoral and unacceptable for people to have sex before marriage, children to be born out of wedlock, and people of different races to even date each other, much less be married. There were laws that made interracial marriage illegal, much like those that are being used against homosexuals today.

I support the right for any two adults to marry one another, regardless of their gender. As for David's comment on polygamy, the reason it is outlawed is mostly due to the fact that many times those marriages were being forced upon young girls against their will and sometimes involve incest.

What is deemed moral/right should be left for an individual to decide for him/herself, not the government.

"Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virture; it makes it a requirement for survival" –Rene Dubos

"Marriage is a religious sacrament…"

If that were true, non-religious people would not marry.

So how is it you can get married by a judge? Or the captain of a ship? I thought it was strictly a religous thing…

You're deluding yourself if you think the concepts of marriage, religion, and god are inseperable. Fact is, to plenty of people (including — conservatives notwithstanding — the government), they are.

Therefore, you lose the argument when you assert that gays should not marry because god hates them.

The far-left should stop trying to get their nose in every aspect of society, for some reason it's okay to approve of gay marriage , but if you disagree, you are homophobic….I call those of us who do not agree with gay marriage as saviors of the moral decay that is eating away at our GREAT country. I applaud those try to stop this decay.

Marriage between a man and a woman ONLY should be in the constitution.
We need to STOP political correctness & save ourselves.

Dave makes an interesting point, I'm all for gay marriage because I feel there is no legal reason against it, the only way you can argue against it is from a religious view and government shouldn't make laws based on religious beliefs. that being said what about polygamy? there's no reason politically to be against it so therefore it's just as viable an issue as gay marriage, there's just less people asking for it, which could change. I want someone to answer me this: if gay marriage should be legalized then what do we do about polygamy?

[...] Edwards also spoke about her recent confrontation with conservative commentator Ann Coulter, the split with her husband on the issue of gay marriage and how she is handling her cancer treatments while [...]

Thank you, Zac, of Katy, TX. Absolutely right. The government should NOT be involved in marriage (which is, as you say, a religious sacrament) any more than it is involved in other sacraments like baptisms, first communions, confessions, vows of silence, etc. Which is to say, it should not be involved at all. Civil unions should exist for everyone, gay or straight, to ensure everyone's basic rights.

Hey, gay marriage is OK with me too. But don't expect GOD to ordain it. And if you don't, then what does it really matter anyway??

When we pay our taxes there is actually a "marriage" penalty. We pay more because we are married and not just living together. I'd love to have your CPA's phone number if it is different for you.

I think that if you feel homosexuality is wrong, it is not a phobia, it is an opinion or belief. I have the right "NOT" to be tolerant of others because they are different, weird, or tick me off. Mr. Edwards apparently holds to his beliefs when it comes to homosexuals, not because he was raised "in the 1950's in a rural southern town" (like there's anything wrong with that - way to go wifey) but because he's a righteous man who believes in God's word.

Shawnie of OR,
If marriage is a religious institution, why do people get tax benefits and all sorts of government perks if they are married? I thought that there was a separation of church and state.

Take benefits for marriage out government and most gays won't care if they can marry or not. Then your churches can set whatever criteria it wants regarding who's "married."

Actually, David from Gilbert, AZ made a valid point. If marriage is to be defined by however consenting adults want to define it, polygamy should be a right as well. It's inconsistent to decry discrimination and turn around and discriminate some other defination of marriage as wrong. And while we're at it, why not bisexual marriages, you know, being able to be married to one of each. The list goes on.

There is nothing stopping the ridiculous slide of what marriage really is. Marriage is a religious institution, and it is defined by God in the scriptures and interpreted by religious leaders. It is between a man and a woman. Period.

Marriage is a civil contract. Therefore, anyone who is willing to enter into that contract should be able to do so. The argument that marriage is scared, sure has not stopped more than half of all married couples from getting divorced. What's up with that?!?

It would be nice if all of the people who complain about marriage rights for gays and lesbians to put in as much fight to outlaw divorce; Yet, I don't think that will happen, because then straight people would have to stay with someone they fell out of love with. Take the beam out of your own eyes before you take the splinter out of another's eyes.

As long as American gays and lesbians are required to pay taxes, uphold all laws, and be good citizens, the same as straight folks, then it is nothing but discrimination to tell them 'marriage' is the one thing they can not do. It is not right or moral.

America is not a theocracy. We are a republic with freedom and liberty for ALL!

Gay marriage: another example of "progressive thinking."

When will it all end…where America becomes just like all the other civilizations who devolve from great nations into irrelevant societies without strength or values? Seems like history is full of examples of this gradual slide into moral bankruptcy.

I applaud Mrs. Edwards for actually speaking her feelings and convictions, not simply playing the political game! All people in the United States deserve respect and equality. Unfortunately, there are way too many closed minded individuals such as David of Gilbert, AZ. This has nothing to do with you, David. This is a right that should not even be an issue - America - freedom for everyone!

Marriage affects the right to insurance benefits, see a loved one in the hospital if injured/sick, inherit in case of death, own your own home, adoption, and wide range of other legal rights as a US Citizen.

Gays and Lesbians are often excluded from these rights, because they are not married.

Due to that marriage is a legal term.

How would you feel if your loved one was dying in the hospital, but you were prohibited from seeing them because you were not a blood relative or married to that person?

These problems affects heterosexual couples that are not married as well. An engagement is not "good" enough.

“I don’t know why someone else’s marriage has anything to do with me,”

Then polygamy should be legal as well?

Government should not support any form of marriage. Marriage is a religious sacrament. Government should only support civil unions no matter what the sex of the couple being married.