Oh, and hey, Gay Marriage. I heard a radio program this morning on how gay marriage is going to be a "wedge issue" in the upcoming presidential election. They explained that a wedge issue is an issue that may not be central to any particular campaign, but when a candidate simply takes a stance, a small but significant group of voters will (or will not) vote for said candidate. I don't really understand how the metaphor of a wedge is applicable, though.

I keep hoping that this issue will get people talking about how much we really believe in the separation of church and state. And do we further believe in the separation of culture and state? Of course, it seems like we need some way to designate a person as having the rights and privileges of a spouse (ie spousal health insurance, inheritance/insurance beneficiary). What if we threw the whole marriage thing out of our laws and just let people officially designate a primary beneficiary who would have the sort of privileges formerly granted a spouse?

Churches could still perform marriages, and instead of a marriage certificate, the couple would get a primary beneficiary certificate. Leave marriage as a religious institution, so people can be happy and conservative and only belong to the Holy Church of Gays not Allowed, and others can be happy and liberal in the Holy Church of We Love Everyone. Of course, one could ask if this Primary Beneficiary (PB) system would exclude polygamists. I suppose the idea could be expanded: I'd give 40% of my PB benefits to my first wife, 30% to my second, 20% to my third, and... heck, 10% to my best friend, just for fun.