How gay marriage is allowed in belgium

[BelgianMadCow]

We have two marriages (NO, not one for gays and one "regular ;-))

1) The legal marriage. Non-religious ceremony performed by a government official (mayor and the like). This extends all the (legal) rights to the couple, doesn't matter if they are gay or not. People in this situation call themselves "married" and are so for all intents and purposes, except religious. This state is called "married for the law" and the ceremony is called "civil marriage"

2) If the couple wants it, a religious (or other, really) ceremony, celebrated under the conditions and using the ritual of the concerned religion. The catholic church here for example will not perform holy matrimony on a gay couple. This ceremony has NO legal implications and the resulting state is called "married for the church".

When people say they are married, they speak of the first. The second is private business.

It would seem to me that some religious people in the US are allowed to define marriage as only existing in (their) context 2, and extend that (personal and private) opinion to context one. A strict separation of church and state should solve that.

Just FYI
regards
bmc

edit: changed "gays" to "gay couple"

[knowbody0]

1. thanks

[Starry Messenger]

2. Thank you for the report!

That's what real civilization looks like. Separation of church and state has been a sticky wicket for many of our compatriots to get past.

[JuniperLea]

3. I've been suggesting much the same for days, BMC

I'm happy to see it's in practice.

This is the crux of the matter:


"It would seem to me that some religious people in the US are allowed to define marriage as only existing in (their) context 2, and extend that (personal and private) opinion to context one. A strict separation of church and state should solve that."


I couldn't agree more!


If we start enforcing Christian law, we need to do the same for Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, etc. I would much prefer getting the church out of our country's laws altogether, as it was deemed appropriate over 200 years ago.

[TexasProgresive]

7. If we started enforcing biblical law -

how many repuke politicians would be stoned for adultery?

[JuniperLea]

9. I'm series! That is HUGH!!!11!!

They are not self-aware at all!

[Oregone]

4. The US also has two marriages

There is a distinction between "civil marriage" the legal construct and "marriage" the socio-religious construct (which is ignored by the state, for the most part). But normally when people say they are married, they refer to the later one or they do not understand the difference. That is the main problem in the US right now: people do not understand the difference between these two separate institutions. Its causing issues for all sides.

Thats why I suggest renaming "civil marriage" appropriately so that people do not continue to confuse the two and suggest that the legal construct can somehow undermines the religious one (which is absurd).

[LittleApple81]

11. I married through a civil ceremony and my husband requested no mention of God during the ceremony.

The judge, an old codger, in a very conservative State, almost had a case of the vapors!

[Oregone]

12. Same here BTW....

And yes, no mention of God. I was adamant about that.

We had our social marriage ceremony but at the end of the day the only thing that matters to the government was the signature on the legal document.

[BelgianMadCow]

17. He pronounced you wan and mife?

:rofl:

[robinlynne]

5. right on!

[rug]

6. Much too sensible.

[elshiva]

8. K&R. It's nice to hear from another, more enlightened country.

Do you like Belgium? Sounds like a wonderful country. :) :hi:

[BelgianMadCow]

13. Well..we have the beer, the chocolate and the french fries

but besides things that make you go fat, we also have universal and very affordable health care, a great education system and a host of social(istic :P) corrections to the free market. Mind you, these things cost money, so we pay hefty taxes.

BUT, we also have
- three languages in a country of 10 million people (difficult, but our main advantage, really - most speak 3 or 4 languages)
- silly political fussing between flemish (dutch speaking) and walloon (french speaking) politicians
- the most complex government ever (on the pro side: a multi party democracy, and often broad coalitions)
- all the rain leftovers from England (if we didn't, it would be close to perfection here I'd say)
- a flemish right wing party that has up to 30 % in some cities (but is "cordoned" off by other parties)

I like where I'm living - but everything can always be improved upon...

:hi:

[elshiva]

16. Thank you again.

You are an intelligent person. :) :hi:

[mirror wall]

10. Europe is so damn sane.

By the way, I love your country. Antwerp and Brussles are the only two cities I've been to, but they're both lovely!

Ooooooooh, while you're here, though, why is it that I can't seem to get free tap water in restaurants and bars when in Belgium? Is it because I have only had short stays and have tended to only go to touristy places or is that normal? I've always wanted to ask and keep forgetting about it.

[BelgianMadCow]

14. Free tap water

hmmm...I'm not sure. You can usually get some for free with a strong coffee or an ice cream, or if you have to take a pill, or a bowl for a dog.
When it comes to entering a bar and ordering only tap water, that's a no-can-do indeed. Bars will always sell both sparkling and non-sparkling water, so I guess that's why. You COULD enter though and go drink some tap water in the ladies/mens room.

On edit: next time, do drop by in Bruges! I'm at 5 mins :-)

[mirror wall]

15. Thanks for the reply!

I bet my problem is that since I had so little time in either place, I stuck mainly to the big tourist sites which, like most tourist sites around the world, tend to try and get every red cent they can out of you by charging for everything. It just seemed really consistent, even when I had ordered beer and/or food.

I'll drop you a line if I'm back up that way, which might not be for a while since I'm moving back to the States soon. Thanks much for the invite, though! If you're in New York City anytime after April, give shoot me a mail, too!

[yardwork]

18. This makes much too much sense to ever be adopted in the U.S.!

Thank you for that message from the sensible side of the planet. I especially liked your sentence: It would seem to me that some religious people in the US are allowed to define marriage as only existing in (their) context 2, and extend that (personal and private) opinion to context one. A strict separation of church and state should solve that.

[BelgianMadCow]

19. Nah, your president elect is pretty sensible

:thumbsup: