We DO choose our family.

[edhopper]

There is an adage that says, you choose your friends but not your family. Partially true. We don't pick our blood relatives, but we pick the closest family we have, our spouses. In our society, once you are married your spouse becomes your closest family member. They legally have the rights to your property and assets, and if something happens to you, they are the legal trustee. And on an emotional level, they become your prime family. The family unit, with or without children is the core relationship in your life. We look at parents who involve themselves to much in their children's marriage as meddling. We take the side of the wife over the mother-in-law.
So we have a society that says; "choose your family and we will have our institutions reflect the importance of that."

Except if your gay.

[WeDidIt]

1. Very well said

Bravo!

[havocmom]

2. Best presentation of the argument for legalizing gay marriage EVER

Brilliant, irrefutable, and very moving.

[Echo In Light]

9. +1

[niyad]

3. k and r

[Warpy]

4. Finally, somebody gets it

The purpose of marriage is to elevate a non related life partner to first degree relative status.

It's the only way to insure the basic human right to visit a life partner in an intensive care unit or to plan the funeral after death. It also accomplishes custody and property arrangements without a lot of expensive legal intervention.

[Heidi]

5. Recommended.

:kick:

[Batgirl]

6. I love how this verbalizes with simplicity and clarity how the concept of "family"

exists separately from sexuality. Anyone who is fortunate enough to develop a relationship of this particular emotional significance, should be entitled to have societal recognition of a chosen family bond. k/r

[fishwax]

7. k/r

:applause:

[LWolf]

8. For some.

For those of us who do not have a spouse, we still have family.

I've had 2 spouses; divorced both of them. I had to keep the first family, even though I didn't want them, because they were my childrens' family, too. Once my boys reached adulthood, I was able to step away.

I lost my second family, who I'd loved since childhood, when my 2nd husband was my best friend, because he couldn't deal with having cheated, and the new girlfriend couldn't deal with my presence. So I bowed out as gracefully as possible, and still miss my brother, my sister, my mom-in-law, and, most of all my FIL, who was the only real father I ever knew long before I married his son.

I have exactly 4 people in my family, and that includes all extended family:

My mom. My 2 sons. My grandson.

[edhopper]

10. I think this is

also of extra importance to those in the gay community who have been ostracized by their family and have found a new one with their partner. For them the members of the "family" the law recognizes are the last ones who should have legal dominance.

[MurrayDelph]

11. I have said for years:

that you have family, relatives, and friends.

1. Not all of your relatives are family
2. Not all of your family are relatives
3. Very rarely, one is lucky-enough to have all three in one person.

[edhopper]

12. This occurred to me

after the NY Senate acted like a bunch of cowards and voted against gay marriage (I hope all the dems who voted no lose their seat).
My wife's cousin has been with his partner longer than I've been married, yet they have none of the rights I do with my wife. The injustice of this is criminal.