What is Homosexual marriage all about?
English: Michael Hendricks (right) and René Leboeuf, photo showing both their faces. Taken at their wedding (the first same-sex marriage in Quebec), 1 April 2004. Photo by Montrealais. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) PATRICK PARKINSON One of the most heartening aspects of the otherwise divisive debate on same-sex marriage has been the recognition on all sides of politics that marriage matters. That is a real turnaround. For years, the rhetoric of progressive politics has been that family structure does not matter and that the law should equally recognise and value all kinds of family, not just the ''traditional'' family consisting of a married couple with children. Many have been dismissive of marriage as an institution. Indeed there has been a strong view in feminist thought that marriage is an oppressive, patriarchal institution from which women need to be liberated. That is why it is so surprising that it is on the left of politics, in particular, that the...