Sex and Marriage and Sex

I've touched on this before, but not, I think, in relation to how many frame the idea of same-sex marriage. From one of Sullivan's readers:

I teach at a large university in a conservative part of the country, and I think a large part of this fear of children learning that - gasp - people can be attracted to the same sex, has to do with the religious right's emphasis on marriage as a primarily sexual institution. They would not agree with that, of course, but look at how they teach sexuality education to their children: "Abstinence til marriage. Nothing else need be said." (Thus sending the message that sex and marriage are yoked at the hip.

Christianity, particularly that variety that appeals to the most dependent on authority, tends to have a fairly low opinion of people. We hear a lot of talk about the human spirit, but like so much else coming out of the mouths of Christianist leaders, it's so much talk. (I mean, we're all sinners, right? And so we need a father-figure to forgive us for being human.) I suspect that's why their focus regarding gay people is always on sex. (Are you listening, Peter LaBarbera?) Because that is the basis, the framework, and the end goal of any romantic relationship.

I'm not sure how to take Sullivan's comment about companionship. I see marriage as a lot more than what I imagine the term to mean, but I'm not sure what he means by it. But rest assured, to me marriage would be about a lot more than sex. After all, I don't need to be married to have sex.

Come to think of it, I don't need to be forgiven for existing, either.