Odd thing is that in 1800 it was modern times then too, so you can't look at it as if it were a poor time for thinking. Some of the greatest minds came out of the 1800's.
Ask yourself one question, why was everyone so against homosexuals getting married?
Marrige was intended so that heterosexuals would precreate and raise a family to increase the population and homosexuals with unnatural sex acts cannot do that.
If you want to give homosexuals a contract fine but to me "marrige" is something special that hetero sexuals have between themselves. Let homosexuals come up with something of their own. Same rights as heterosexuals but not called marrige.
Actually marriage was not solely created for procreation. Procreation could take place without marriage. It was a way to tell society that you have a mate and that therefore it was acceptable to have sex with them (as often as you'd like) without having a woman branded as a prostitute, or essentially as 'loose'. It also meant that the parents would take responsibility for the off-spring's upbringing, who would in turn care for their elders.
It was also a safety net for women. If a woman was unmarried she did not have anyone to protect her from other men (other than her family). Depending on how far back one goes in history women did not have many rights or opportunities to work, own property and make money. Often men and women did not marry for love, but as a mutual partnership. The man provided a home, shelter and protection. A woman cared for the home, made the meals, and yes, sex was a great benefit too.
As society progressed marriage was recognized as both a legal and a religious entity. However, history has also shown that men often took on several wives both in Eastern and Western cultures. Evidence of this can be found in the bible (Old testament), and the Mormon religion did once allow polygamy. To say that marriage was created to be between a man and
a woman is far from the truth. Marriage as a tradition has been greatly changed and amended over the centuries. Look at the Church of England's break from the Roman Catholic Church that brought on the age of Reformation. The ability to divorce was at the center of that conflict (among others).
I believe people are against gay marriage not because they believe that the 'Word' marriage should be only reserved for a legal/religious ceremony between a man and a woman. I think it's because they are against the ideas of gays or lesbians being accepted in society, to be treated normally with the same rights and privileges as everyone else. For someone who is religious this also serves as a threat to the infallible credibility of the bible (or other religious source) much like the Theory of Evolution is thought to do, or the revelation that the Earth is not flat, the sun does not revolve around the earth, or that our world is over 4 billion years old. Some people have a hard time accepting that.
Years ago I don't think anyone saw this issue coming, and it seems many people have been knocked off balance by the idea. From the beginning of mankind homosexuality has existed. In most cultures it has been on the fringes of society, with gays and lesbians marginalized to even their demise sought (the Holocaust). However, if you look past whatever preconceived notion or unchallenged assumption one has about gays and lesbians you find they are, at the heart of things. just people, fighting to be treated fair and equally.
Their struggle is no different than those of woman and minorities for most of the 20th Century. To grant them the same rights as married couples but to call it something else is to treat them as 2nd class citizens. It would be apartheid on the grounds of marriage rather than race.
-Wolf
