Tea Party Lawmaker Files 454 Page Bill Redefining Marriage To Ban Gay Couples From 'Matrimony'

[KamaAina]

http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/davidbadash/tea_party_lawmaker_files_454_page_bill_redefining_marriage_so_only_opposite_sex_couples_may_enter_matrimony

Kentucky State Rep. Joseph Fischer of Campbell County has filed a 454-page bill that effectively bans same-sex couples from entering the state of "matrimony." HB 572, the "Matrimonial Freedom Act," would still allow same-sex couples to legally marry, but would create an entirely new legal concept, "matrimony." Fischer's bill says matrimony "refers only to the civil status, condition, or relation of one male human being ('husband') and one female human being ('wife') united in law for life, for the discharge to each other and the community of the duties legally incumbent upon those whose association is founded on the distinction of sex."...

Zack Ford at ThinkProgress first reported on Fischer's bill, and notes its "epic" length is due to Fischer literally rewriting all Kentucky "statutes that define the basic parameters of marriage," noting that "duplicate language is added defining 'matrimony' by the exact same parameters."

Ford adds that "anywhere that the law outlines a privilege, benefit, or responsibility previously made available to marriage, the word 'marriage' is replaced by the word 'matrimony.'"

If you're wondering how it is that a state lawmaker has the time and resources to devote to such an incredibly obviously unconstitutional pet project, and if those resources might be better devoted to real, actual issues, so were we.

How many trees were killed to produce a 454-page bill?!

[rurallib]

1. Wouldn't it be easier for Kentucky to just quit the marriage business?

if no one can get married, then gays can't get married. There you are.

[gratuitous]

2. Exhibit A in favor of marriage equality

When I hear the tired, unconstitutional argument that goes something along the lines of "Why can't same sex couples be satisfied with some near-equivalent to marriage?" Here's your answer, helpfully provided by Rep. Fischer (R-Knucklehead): He goes through the entire state code to strain out all the rights, privileges, and other legal goodies available to married couples, and comes out with a 454 page document. Marriage carries a lot of legal freight. Asking some couples to be satisfied with anything less creates a second class of citizens who are good enough to pay taxes, but not good enough to enjoy all the protections of the law.