Ben Torah: I will assume from your username that you understand the distinction between actions and taivah. I dont think I need to spell out what mishkav zachos is on this forum, but needless to say, two men or women living in the same home, cooking dinner together, sharing their income, filing their taxes under “married,” and receiving each other’s insurance benefits, is not “mishkav zachor.
I do not disagree with you about the act, or the penalty under sheva mitzvos (though its not clear whether such peanlty is min hashamayim, or if the mitzva of creating a legal system requires the prohibition and proper punishment of sheva mitzvos). I also think the Supreme Court’s holding that it is unconstitutional to prohibit homosexual conduct under the due process clause of the 14th Amend. is wrongly on the law and wrong on democratic grounds. In terms of equal protection, however, in a democracy, we CANNOT treat people differently in terms of their ability to enjoy certain legal protections and benefits simply based on their mindset. And that is all homosexual marriage (as distinct from actions) is, isn’t it? Its a domestic relationship between two people of the same gender who happen to prefer each other’s company to that of members of the opposite gender. The michkav zachor is neither a necessary nor sufficient aspect of claiming the social benefits of civil marriage, and so I still don’t see what the issue is?