Bigotry is alive and well in America. In a referendum on the issue of gay marriage in Maine, the outcome was once again decided by a group of small-minded ignoramuses. And Bigots, Inc. wasted no time in exploiting the underlying aversion people have toward homosexuality to advance their agenda of intolerance and discrimination.

But the last time I checked America was established as a nation of tolerance, civil liberties and human rights. It is inherent in our constitution, our traditions, and our history. Yet for a country that sells itself to the world as a sanctuary of liberty and human rights we sure have hard time reconciling this with our own rhetoric. The issue now is whether or not homosexuals should receive equal civil treatment when it comes to marriage. Both sides continue to launch vehement attacks on one another to support their respective positions. Yet all the struggles in court rooms, legislatures and voting booths over gay-marriage have simply been a precursor for the real conflict looming on the horizon; the battle over who owns marriage.

On the offensive are the traditional marriage people. This group believes marriage is a holy union between a man and a woman that is blessed and sanctified by God. For them, marriage “belongs” to God; meaning churches and religions. And the very idea of a man-man or woman-woman marriage is pure blasphemy.

But aside from all the blessing and sanctity stuff, marriage is essentially a legal union; a special kind of partnership that defines the relationship between two people joined in wedlock. This legal institution of marriage spans numerous laws, decisions, precedents and opinions, which are generally written for each state. But after the wedding, the ceremony, the holy water and whatever else each religion deems necessary to bless the union…the government steps in. It mediates marital rights and responsibilities during marriage, including the custody of minors and the division of property when marriages end in divorce. Like or not, marriage is essentially an institution of law, not religion. And as such the scope of marriage should be decided by the constitution, not the Bible! Apparently the bigots sodomizing civil rights across the country didn’t get the message.