I attended my first gay marriage ceremony over the weekend in Berlin--actually, it's not marriage for homosexuals here in Germany, but a "registered partnership" as it is in many places. Anyways, all relationships have their own unique circumstances of coming to be and this particular one is certainly no different, with the stars and bars and beers aligning perfectly to make it happen (it's fairly safe to say the latter played the largest part in this one), but it certainly did get me thinking of the "institution" as I often read it as put by many an American. Although an expat for ten years now, I still vote in Phoenix because if I registered abroad I could only vote for President (now everybody knows I'm a criminal, but I really like voting against Libertarians). In the last election there was a proposition passed declaring marriage to solely take place between a man and a woman, which--as with most things--was a tight race.
After (or prior to, for that matter) witnessing such an event, I ask myself what on Earth are those 47% of voters afraid of? (OK, so I took five percent out for being in the closest themselves and thus fearing the ever-present homovirus, which has already broken out in the far left corner of the US, New England, and somehow spread to Iowa of all places... maybe it's the gene manipulated corn???)
But probably even worse than the approval of such a proposition, is the term "registered partnership", which if it simply were just that--a term--would be harmless, nothing but a sick little joke to let the homos know they're always going to be different in the eyes of the law. However, there is always a lack of liberty that goes a long with the moniker. Here in the Vaterland, for example, they are not allowed to adopt children for the simple fact of the afore mentioned virus, I suppose.
So anyways, all I'm really trying to say is at least the homophobes of AZ are keeping it honest. Homosexuals can get hitched Berlin, but not married.
Most people here, as was for me, aren't aware that the government has limited the rights of homosexual partnership.
For other lovers of liberty out there, know that registered partnerships are not.
