By now you’ve heard the story of Nick and Sarah Jensen, who claim that they will seek a civil divorce if same-sex marriage is allowed, even though they fully intend to continue living together as a legally-unmarried cohabiting pair. Their goal is to try and claim that gay marriage really is a tangible threat to traditional marriage. And since no such threat really exists anywhere in the real world, they’re trying to create one out of nothing.
They are failing. The law is doing nothing to force them apart. If they choose to spitefully end their own marriage, it will not be because of any act of the government’s, but solely due to their inexorable hatred towards gays.
Their claimed rationale for divorcing is a rather obvious sham.
“My wife and I, as a matter of conscience, refuse to recognize the government’s regulation of marriage if its definition includes the solemnization of same-sex couples,” Jensen wrote.
But in fact, they do recognize the government’s regulation of marriage, otherwise they would not be resorting to the government to terminate theirs. And note, too, what definition of marriage they’re continuing to use for their own relationship.
You see, after our divorce, we’ll continue to live together, hopefully for another 50 years. And, God willing, we’ll have more children. We’ll also continue to refer to each other as “husband” and “wife” and consider ourselves married by the Church and before God.
So their marriage, independently of any legal considerations, will consist of their living happily together, maybe raising a family together, and enjoying a special, committed, unique relationship with one another. Sounds a lot like what gay couples want out of marriage too, doesn’t it?
The fact of the matter is that gay marriage does not change the definition of marriage, it merely makes it available to other couples who were previously denied the right to participate. The whole reason “good Christian folk” are upset about gay marriage is precisely because it doesn’t change the definition—it allows gay couples to enjoy every benefit and shoulder every responsibility that hetero couples do (including the sex! Gasp!).
So thank you, Nick and Sarah, for demonstrating once again the destructive power of Christian hate. You have been clutching that archaic torch for too long. It has burned down, and now you’re the ones who are going to be burned because you can’t bear to drop it. And everybody knows you’re voluntarily doing it to yourselves, out of spite.
I ruined two marriages before the gays were even allowed to marry anywhere! Curse you, gay marriage!
As someone with first-hand experience in Aussie divorces, I’m happy to inform you that their application for divorce will fail. Because to get a marriage terminated, you need to
a) be “separated and apart” for at least 12 months prior to the divorce (if you can’t afford two places to live, you still need to give notice of the separation and live “not like husband and wife”, whatever the law may mean by that),
b) satisfy the court that the chances of getting back together into a marriage-like life together seem nil at this point.
Pretty binding stuff, this non-religious marriage… So the Jensens have the choice of staying married or flat-out lying to the family court to get divorced. Which is not just a tad unbiblical but also frowned upon by other parts of the law.
Of course the poor would-be divorcees are totally incredulous and upset about this turn of events, but then they should have read the fine print before getting into such a serious commitment as marrying:
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-11/christian-couple-vow-to-get-divorced-in-face-of-gay-marriage/6539412
My first thought was, “Hey, for once this is a heterosexual marriage being destroyed by SSM”. Then I realized that it would be nothing of the sort; the marriage will have been destroyed by the deliberate choice of the spouses in question.
So, another pointless gesture that means less than nothing. Go figure.
Holy Crap! Talk about cutting off your nose to spite your face. Is it too cruel just to point and laugh at them at this point –or is this more a case where their friends need to gather together and surprise them with an “intervention” with hopes of pressuring them into rehab…you know, before their addiction to stupidity totally takes over their entire lives?
@ Dago Red
They were addicted to stupidity a long time ago. This is just symptomatic at this point.
Note how they also call marriage a contract with the state and how the state is one-sidedly changing the conditions of that contract. That’s false for two reasons: the contract is between the two spouses, not between the spouses and the state; and the state is not changing the conditions, it is merely allowing others to enter into the same kind of contract.
Sometimes states do change the conditions of marriage. For example, the Dutch government changed law of succession for married couples a few years ago. I heard no religious bigot complaining about the redefinition of marriage back then!
*My* take away from this story is relief. I’m relieved that the USA is not the only nation equipped with Xtian bloviators that revel in their own stupidity and hatred as if it were a virtue to do so.
Hmmm, isn’t divorce a sin in their religion? Isn’t cohabiting when unmarried a sin in their religion? Isn’t lying about actions & intentions a sin in their religion?
They must hate their religion.
They’re probably already getting offers from evangelicals who organize well paid speaking tours – mission accomplished.
Perhaps we are witnessing the emergence of Aussie Exceptionalism, Anna Elizabeth. Different label than the ‘Mercan type. Same juvenile attention-getting stunts. Same temper tantrums when they fail to get their way.
Gays should be free to get married and idiots should be free to get divorced for no reason because they think it makes some kind of point about the sanctity of marriage.
And less than a week later all of the water has boiled away in their little tempest-in-a-teapot. It’s… nothing. Gone. Over. Lame-stream media indeed.