http://sexinthepublicsquare.org/ElizabethsBlog/how-many-same-sex-marriages-will-there-be-in-the-US-in-2010 Comments for "Q: How many same-sex marriages will there be in the U.S. in 2010?" en http://sexinthepublicsquare.org/ElizabethsBlog/how-many-same-sex-marriages-will-there-be-in-the-US-in-2010#comment-3611 <blockquote><p><em>It comes down to this: The federal government should not allow its official picture of the nation to be drawn inaccurately because of religious disagreements about the morality of homosexuality.</em></p> </p></blockquote> <p>Yes, this is exactly the heart of the matter.  You have nailed the issue in this post.  From ignoring legal marriages to spinning, editing, and outright lying about science on climate science to stem cell research, to promoting prosyletization through government funded programs, our elected officials, most notably the current administration and its cohorts but not excluding the current members of Congress, are not only violating the establishment clause of the first amendment, but are attempting to legislate reality.  It is very Orwellian in nature, and theocratic in its leanings.  I, quite frankly, do not care for this artificial reality they are trying to establish.</p> <p>Well thought out and well written, Elizabeth.  There is no justifiable reason why same-sex marriages should not be counted in the states wherein they are legal and recognized.</p> Tue, 22 Jul 2008 17:58:00 -0700 JanieBelle comment 3611 at http://sexinthepublicsquare.org http://sexinthepublicsquare.org/ElizabethsBlog/how-many-same-sex-marriages-will-there-be-in-the-US-in-2010 <p> <strong>A: None, according to the U.S. Census</strong> </p><p> Why? <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/18/us/18census.html?ei=5124&amp;en=4cc8bcfe0a2a50bb&amp;ex=1374120000&amp;adxnnl=1&amp;partner=permalink&amp;exprod=permalink&amp;adxnnlx=1216567725-1eYwru8y35zVBrkJ180KDw">A New York Times article</a> on July 18 quotes Steven H. Murdock, director of the <a href="http://www.census.gov">U. S. Census Bureau</a>, who explains that because of the 1996 <a href="http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c104:H.R.3396.ENR:">Defense of Marriage Act</a> marriages between people of the same sex cannot be recognized or counted even in the states where they are legal. Even by the Census. </p><p> Why does it matter? Gay rights activists argue that it matters because it renders married same-sex couples invisible. I agree. That absolutely matters. But it also matters because it is evidence of our government&#39;s blinding itself to reality. It is further evidence, as with interference in <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/interference/climate-change.html">climate research</a> and <a href="http://oversight.house.gov/story.asp?ID=1399">health research</a>, that <a href="http://www.ucsusa.org/scientific_integrity/interference/a-to-z-guide-to-political.html">the government cannot be trusted to put science and reason ahead of ideology, religion and faith</a>. </p> <p><a href="http://sexinthepublicsquare.org/ElizabethsBlog/how-many-same-sex-marriages-will-there-be-in-the-US-in-2010">read more</a></p> http://sexinthepublicsquare.org/ElizabethsBlog/how-many-same-sex-marriages-will-there-be-in-the-US-in-2010#comments census 2010 politics same-sex marriage Sun, 20 Jul 2008 15:22:07 -0700 Elizabeth 711 at http://sexinthepublicsquare.org