Dan Savage, co-founder of the It Gets
Better Project, says it is the straight community which has redefined
marriage.
The outspoken gay rights activist made
his comments in a video for the UK's Out4Marriage campaign.
“One of the arguments against
same-sex marriage rights is that we are seeking to redefine the
institution of marriage. And that is not true. It was straight
people who redefined the institution of marriage. Marriage is the
legal union of two equal and autonomous individuals. Marriage can be
monogamous or not, it can be for life or not, a married couple can
have children or not, they can have a religious ceremony or not.
Marriage is no longer a gendered institution.”
Marriage, Savage added, “is about two
people in love.” Civil unions and domestic partnerships conveys to
gay people that “our love is lesser than.”
“That there is something damaged and
deficient about who we are, and that our love isn't the same. Isn't
the same as the love of heterosexuals. And we know that that is a
lie.” (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.
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Savage also referred to partner Terry
Miller as his husband in Canada and boyfriend in America.