On 2006/06/02, at 14:21, Steven L. Robinson wrote:
> "We can never resolve the debate over same-sex marriage until we
> separate
> legal marriage from religious marriage," he says in a conference
> paper. "The
> state should administer legal marriage, and its rules ... should be
> made
> through the political process. Religious organizations should
> administer
> religious marriages," making their own rules. The legal
> relationship "could
> be called 'civil union' for gays and straights alike."
That is already the case for France, but same-sex marriage is not quite an option even with the PACS. Similarly, in Japan, there are no connections whatsoever between marriage and any religious practice that would make it "legal", still, same-sex marriage is not happening.
Jean-Christophe