I have two problems with "gay marriage"; both are semantic.
I'm not sure when the word "gay" got high jacked to mean "homosexual" but I want my word back. "Gay" meant, and should mean, "happy." Even Merriam -Webster's on-line dictionary agrees.
"Marriage" back in the day meant a sanctioned carnal relationship between one man and one woman, Mormons excepted.
Now we have "gay marriage."
I am unequivocally against "gay marriage."
I am not opposed to giving homosexuals the benefits extended to heterosexual married couples, nor am I opposed to giving unwed heterosexual couples the same benefits (and Disadvantages), assuming there is come type contract/binding agreement between the individuals. Perhaps states could consider cohabiting homosexuals as common law spouses as they do cohabiting heterosexuals.
Just don't call it "marriage."
Call it a "civil union" with each party identified as the other party's "significant other." For homosexuals, that neatly eliminates the question of who is the "husband" and who is the "wife."
If one partner is hospitalized, the other partner should be able to visit "as if" they were a married couple. If the couple has a conjugal contract of any type, inheritance laws should treat the survivor "as if" the survivor was the deceased spouse.
When I was in grammar school, "queer" meant "unusual, strange." Then it morphed into a term for homosexuals because, years ago, homosexuals who came out of the closet were "different, strange." "Queer" was a convenient term; it included both male and female; now we have distinctions: gay and lesbian (bi-sexual for people who aren't sure, and transgender for folks moving one way or the other) - GLBT.
By the way, it should be "trans-sexual" rather than "transgender." Gender relates to plants and words; "sex" is limited to human beings - it's better that way. 'Course the slang "tranny" eliminates the "sex" problem . . . and also moves the thought from automotive transmissions - trannys - to homo sapiens.
But "queer," unlike "honky" is not "PC" and we must be PC. 'Course intra-group, all labels are acceptable; rather like a non-Jew telling a Jewish joke - it's not "PC" no matter that the non-Jew heard it first from a Jew's mouth.
I know most languages - except maybe French - are "living languages" subject to change.
The problem with the redefining of words such as "gay," "marriage", and "queer" is this shows a lack of vocabulary skills on the part of redefiners. Where are the Bill Buckleys, Gore Vidals, Winston Churchills, Abba Ebans, or even a Howard Cosell to either enlighten us with extant words for "this and that" or to coin words for "this and that"? Only people ignorant of their language highjack words to redefine them in their own narrow provincialisms.
Interesting aside. In Hebrew, "vocabulary" is אוצר מלים.
מלים (me'leem) means "words" while אוצר (ot-zer) means "treasury" - I can't think of a better description for "vocabulary." It's a pity that some people's "treasuries" are so bereft of words.
