First of all, there are plenty of examples of heterosexual marriages that are decidedly not sacred unions. Being married has not protected anyone from domestic violence, divorce, oppression of women or abuse.
That said, I'm still a fan of marriage, because it is still an opportunity for the church and society to recognize the creation of families. I think it's a beautiful thing when two people want to declare their love for one another before God, in community, and commit to each other to be a family for the rest of their lives. What difference could the gender of these two people possibly make?
The arguments against gay marriage are ridiculous. I heard proponents of Proposition 8 in California, the recently passed ban on Gay Marriage, asking questions like, 'what if I want to marry my dog?' 'Or my sister?' These arguments are coming out of an assumption that homosexual relationships are somehow 'less' than heterosexual relationships. They come from an assumption that gay people are incapable of love or monogamy, and thus do not deserve the same basic human rights as heterosexuals. These arguments are immoral, and directly contradictory to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Not only did Jesus himself fight against traditional definitions of family in his time, but he consistently affirmed the full humanity of everyone.
The worst I heard was someone in fear of the church being forced to marry gays and lesbians. Now, I don't think this would have been the case, but imagine that - the state telling the church they cannot discriminate. If this isn't proof that churches have lost their moral leadership in society, I don't know what is.
If Christians are to take seriously Jesus' gospel of love, all God's children must have their love celebrated by both the church and society.
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