Whilst I can't say I'm happy at the idea of people just living together without commitment and moving on whenever suits them, I would be delighted to see a change in US policy from right-wing family values and fundamentalist Christian to something more moderate and open.
You think you can't have commitment without marriage? I'd bet there's just as many non-married couples out there as actually committed married ones (ie, not cheating on each other). I know several unmarried couples that live as if they are, but haven't taken vows for a number of reasons, one of which amounting to something to the effect of a family curse. That said, I agree with the bit on the change in policy. With divorce rates around 50%, it seems clear that marriage is hardly always the right option, and I know there are plenty of couples that just want to try something different but without leaving their partner, and marriage can create a sort of stigma that would make things really awkward at best.
Divorce rates are crazy these days. I think the problem is two-fold. One: people don't think enough about the consequences before getting married. Two: our society tells us that we need to have fun all the time, and be with as many women as we can, which is not very good for marriage. I also think that the whole no gay marriage thing is crazy. Since when can the government say that someones love isn't as pure as someone else's? It's conservatives forcing their values on people who don't want them. Oh well...our society is so messed up we have more important things then marriage issues to worry about.
Wow I never realised that 66%!! are "non family households" which is "primarily" homosexual. I honestly never realised there were that many! I cant understand why more isn't being done for them and non married couples considering they are the majority.
I dunno - I'm in two minds about this whole marriage thing. This is going to sound VERY frivolous (sp?) but it does make researching the family tree a whole lot easier... Not that I can talk - I have absolutly no intention of getting married. I've seen what my brother and sister-in-law are like. That's enough to put anyone off.
But surely you make your own house and get together with a person of your choosing. You're saying it like it's a set piece and you know how it'll end up without any control on your behalf.
Maths isn't your strong subject, is it? 36.7M out of 111.2M = 33%; still a lot, but that includes groups of students sharing a house, who aren't always gay. And maybe all the illegal immigrants who've left their families behind, plenty of them.
Sorry, I meant compared to married households at 55.2 million, considering that "living together = marriage" is the only thing some people think about, let alone "living together and being homosexual" which is the other extreme end of the scale. It says "primarily homosexual" so it was a pseudo sarcastic, slightly questionable and a fair amount of surprise.
