Now, if we can just get people to understand (especially those who have religious issues with marriage equality) that the religious sacrament is “Holy Matrimony” and “Marriage” is a legal term, we might make more headway faster.

One can legally become “married” without the religious sacrament. Non-religious people do it all the time. It is a civil, legal contract that is governed by the State.

“Holy Matrimony”, however, is the Ecclesiastical aspect, during which the union of the two parties is given the blessing of God and the Church, and is usually a part of a religious marriage ceremony, but is NOT required to make the marriage legal.

Our culture tends to meld terms together or use words interchangeably to mean the same thing when they don’t. This is most likely because we tend to be lazy speakers, in general. This is a prime example.

Every single goddamn*d time someone says gay marriage as opposed to MARRIAGE EQUALITY, we lose support. If you support marriage equality then call it marriage equality. If you want our side to continue to lose for another 100 years, then by all means keep refering to marriage equality as gay marriage.

When a candidate is asked “Do you support gay marriage?” it is easy for him/her to say NO, but I support “equal” rights. When you ask a candidate “do you support marriage equality” it makes it harder for them to weasel out and the mere use of the term “marriage equality” dispels myths in the minds of those who are convincible.

One POWERFUL myth that the anti-marriage equality forces have, is that “gay marriage” is opposed to traditional marriage. When we say “We want gay marriage” in their minds, it’s as if we’re saying down with traditional marriage. So, our solution is clear as a bell, if you are inteligent, and that is use the term marriage equality NOT gay marriage.