They were discussing the institution of marriage on BBC Radio 4's 'Womans Hour' this morning.
Some points that came up:
(I'm paraphrasing and relying on memory, so I may have made some errors. It may be possible for you to listen to the programme yourself via the website, if you so wish)
A young mother who had lost her 'common law husband' was shocked to find that she was not entitled to a widow's pension or any similar financial support because she was not married.
An older woman similarly found herself without home or anything when her fiance, with whom she had lived for nearly ten years, told her she had to go because he was no longer interested.
A married woman told of how her husband emptied their joint bank account and left her with only the joint mortgage to pay.
A Christian woman was extolling the institution of marriage but said that it could not be extended to Gay people because it was a rite involving one man and one woman.
A Gay woman said that marriage should be open to all committed and faithful loving couples regardless.
A Gay man agreed that marriage was a ceremony involving a man and a woman but felt that a civil union should be available to homosexual couples.
A heterosexual woman said that the civil union that was being brought in for Gay couples should be available for heterosexual unions, too.
A Muslim woman said that marriage was there not for romantic love but so that males and females could behave as males & females do and have childen in a manner acceptable to God.
An older couple, who had lived together for many years, decided to get married for financial reasons and made all the middle-aged and elderly women in their village much happier about their arrangement.
Of course there were many more comments, some good and some bad.
