Top 60 Civil Marriage Quotes
#1. Because it fulfills yearnings for security, safe haven, and connection that express our common humanity, civil marriage is an esteemed institution, and the decision whether and whom to marry is among life's momentous acts of self-definition.
Margaret H. Marshall
#2. Our prayers at this time are prompted by the fact that the Governor of Illinois today is signing into Illinois law the redefinition of civil marriage, introducing not only an unprecedented novelty into our state law, but also institutionalizing an objectively sinful reality.
Thomas J. Paprocki
#3. What you saw was the people of New York having a debate, talking through these issues. It was contentious; it was emotional; but, ultimately, they made a decision to recognize civil marriage. And I think that's exactly how things should work.
Barack Obama
#4. Same-sex couples should have the right to civil marriage. Our time on this earth is limited, I know that better than most. Life comes down to who you love and who loves you back- government has no place in the middle.
Mark Kirk
#5. Civil marriage, like all civil rights provided by the government, must be provided equally to all Americans.
Benjamin Todd Jealous
#6. Civil marriage is a very serious problem. I think that even the religious understands that we must look for some kind of a solution because we have some contradictions. I'm sure there are many solutions.
Avigdor Lieberman
#7. As the head of a religious party, I am not in favor of civil marriage or the full recognition of non-Orthodox converts in Israel.
Ayelet Shaked
#8. If you look at attitudes today and where they are headed, it's clear to me that supporting equal rights, including the rights to civil marriage, is a net positive for winning elections, as well as the right thing to do.
Ken Mehlman
#9. I oppose same-sex marriage and civil unions but I support domestic partnership between gay and lesbian couples. I have no problem with gay and lesbian couples adopting. I support equal benefits for same-sex couples such as hospital visitation rights
Mitt Romney
#10. I do not believe that defending traditional marriage between one man and one woman excludes anybody or usurps anybody's civil rights and denies anybody their civil rights.
Alan Autry
#11. Marriage is a civil right. If you don't want gay people to marry in your church, good for you. But you can't say they can't marry in your city.
Julian Bond
#12. A lot of people criticized me for speaking out, not long ago, about gay marriage. I could not remain silent any longer. It's the civil rights of our day. It's the issue of our day.
Joe Biden
#13. If we are going to realise our ambition of ending the harmful practices of FGM and forced marriage, the role of young people in pushing for change is crucial. We also need to ensure that everyone, from government to civil society, is playing their part.
Theresa May
#14. Marriage is a psychological condition, not a civil contract and a license. Once a marriage is dead, it is dead, and it begins to stink faster than a dead fish.
Robert A. Heinlein
#15. Public-opinion polls show that Americans split about evenly on civil unions. But when the words 'gay marriage' are presented, they break 3-to-1 against it.
Dick Morris
#16. I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women, and heterosexual men and women marrying another are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don't see much of a distinction beyond that.
Joe Biden
#17. As marriage and the family institution constitute the foundation and chief cornerstone of civil society, it is of the greatest moment that the marriage-tie should never be dissolved save for the most urgent reason. I cannot assent, however, to the doctrine that it should never be dissolved at all.
Joseph P. Bradley
#18. At some point in our lifetime, gay marriage won't be an issue, and everyone who stood against this civil right will look as outdated as George Wallace standing on the school steps keeping James Hood from entering the University of Alabama because he was black.
George Clooney
#19. The marriage-equality issue should be recognized for what it truly is - a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law.
Bruce Springsteen
#20. Are you kidding me? It's insane that civil rights are being denied people in this day and age. It's embarrassing, and it's heartbreaking. It goes without saying that I'm completely in support of gay marriage. In 10 years we'll be ashamed that this was an issue.
Chris Evans
#21. [Speaking about same-sex marriage] It's about familiarity, and I think the only reason they're uncomfortable with the notion of same-sex marriages is because they haven't come into contact with gay and lesbian couples enough to understand that it's about love and that it is a civil right.
Jennifer Beals
#22. There is a difference between civil partnerships and marriage. That difference does not mean one is better than another.
John Sentamu
#23. You cannot stand for civil rights + not support gay marriage. You cannot stand for human rights + not support gay marriage. It's that simple.
Everywhere, the voice of the oppressed must echo + ring out or else it will be crushed by the tyranny of wickedness.
Bernard Schaffer
#24. I'm definitely always drawn to the injustice of people who have been imprisoned for things they didn't do. But also lots about abortion and gay marriage. Civil issues are usually what I am drawn to.
Natalie Maines
#25. Evan Wolfson is a dear friend of mine. Almost more than any other, Evan is responsible for bringing the issue of marriage equality to the forefront of our struggle for civil rights. He is a courageous pioneer who has been relentless in this battle for marriage equality.
David Mixner
#26. In Indonesia, where I am from, the Dutch-imposed Civil Code dating back to the colonial 1870s prevailed until the 1974 Law on Marriage granted married women greater rights, including the ability to open individual bank accounts.
Sri Mulyani Indrawati
#27. More people more accepting of civil unions and gay marriage, which our pollster said was the most significant change they've seen on any social issue. So, this country is changing in a way.
Norah O'Donnell
#28. For the hundreds of thousands of Californians in gay and lesbian households who are managing their day-to-day lives, this decision affirms the full legal protections and safeguards I believe everyone deserves.
Arnold Schwarzenegger
#29. Here's why I cannot vote for Rudy Giuliani. He's pro-abortion. He's never repudiated gay marriage in New York City or at least the civil unions in New York City. He's called a champion of gay rights. Rudy is opposed to school choice. He's in favor of open borders.
James Dobson
#30. I have not supported same-sex marriage. I have supported civil partnerships and contractual relationships.
Hillary Clinton
#31. After much deliberation, and after reviewing the legal, public policy and civil-rights questions presented, I support marriage equality for same-sex couples and believe that DOMA should be repealed.
Bob Casey Jr.
#32. Obama's endorsement of gay marriage is hardly as consequential as Johnson's legislative success on civil rights.
Robert Dallek
#33. Marriage is a civil contract; people marry to better their worldly condition and improve appearances; it is an affair of house and furniture, of liveries, servants, equipage, and so forth. The
Charles Dickens
#34. It's not a bad thing, if you're responsible about it. Just don't start having boyfriends. Wait until you've found your husband."
"And how am I supposed to find a husband if I can't have a boyfriend until then?" I asked ironically.
Zack Love
#35. If I felt, in the event of a royal wedding, inspired to write about people coming together in marriage or civil partnership, I would just be grateful to have an idea for the poem. And if I didn't, I'd ignore it.
Carol Ann Duffy
#36. Gay marriage will be universally accepted in time. But if I may be so bold as to say to gays and lesbians, don't wait for that time to arrive. Just as my father and his generation did not 'wait' for their civil rights, nor should you. The toothpaste ain't going back in the tube. The tide has turned.
John Ridley
#37. In 1967, only 4% of Americans approved of interracial marriage, yet the Supreme Court dismissed the desire of 96% of Americans who did not support it in order to preserve the rights of the minority.
Kathy Baldock
#38. True Christians are not bigoted and this is actually not a matter of equality, no matter how often it is referred to as equal marriage. Civil partnerships are equal to marriage - they might not have the same name but they are equal.
Robert Flello
#39. I think there are a whole host of things that are civil rights, and then there are other things - such as traditional marriage - that, I think, express a community's concern and regard for a particular institution.
Barack Obama
#40. I don't think it's a great leap to go from civil unions to gay marriage - I may be in the minority in believing that.
Harold Ford Jr.
#41. It's ridiculous to insinuate that the social recognition of homosexual civil unions damages families or the institution of marriage.
Jens Spahn
#42. I support gay unions. I think the government should get out of the marriage business completely - leave marriages to the churches. And grant civil unions to gay couples, grant civil unions to a man and woman.
Gary Johnson
#43. I think we have muddled the terms of marriage, civil partnership, registry office, church etc. I would have liked that to have been clarified. I didn't really like the legislation that was the problem but I absolutely support gay marriage.
Andrea Leadsom
#44. The real reason people oppose marriage equality is religious in nature. Marriage equality is therefore not only a civil rights issue, but also a separation-of-church-and-state issue.
David Silverman
#45. It's so simple: Right to marriage is a civil right, which like all civil rights should not depend on what state you happen to live in.
Annie Laurie Gaylor
#46. Marriage is sacred and protected and has nothing to do with violating our civil rights.
Jack Kingston
#48. Religious institutions should have religious freedom on this issue. No church or minister should ever have to conduct a marriage that is inconsistent with their religious beliefs. But I think as a civil institution, this issue's time has come and we need to move forward.
Kay Hagan
#49. I have no difficulty with the recognition of civil unions for non-traditional relationships but I believe in law we should protect the traditional definition of marriage.
Stephen Harper
#50. If your Bible tells you that gay people ought not be married in your church, don't tell them they can't be married at city hall. Marriage is a civil rite as well a civil right, and we can't let religious bigotry close the door to justice to anyone.
Julian Bond
#51. Marriage is the internationally recognised system of relationship recognition. It is the global language of love. When we were young, most of us dreamed of one day getting married. We didn't dream about having a civil partnership.
Peter Tatchell
#52. Politicians responsible for enacting civil same-sex marriage legislation are morally complicit as co-operators in facilitating this grave sin.
Thomas J. Paprocki
#53. Growing up, my birthday was always Confederate Memorial Day. It helped to create this profound sense of awareness about the Civil War and the 100 years between the Civil War and the civil rights movement and my parents' then-illegal and interracial marriage.
Natasha Trethewey
#54. Well, my personal mission statement is that we want marriage equality in all 50 states. We want it not to be a state-by-state issue. We don't want it to be something the majority is voting on. I don't think the civil rights of any minority should be in the hands of any majority.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson
#55. I oppose any attempt to grant homosexual unions the same legal privileges that civil government affords to traditional marriage and family life.
Todd Akin
#56. Civil union is less than marriage. Marriage is a sacred and valued institution and ought to be afforded equal protection.
James McGreevey
#57. If I were a Catholic, I'd be asking what's going on here. I really would. "The pope also broke with his predecessors by suggesting that Catholic lawmakers are free to vote for same-sex marriage and civil unions."
Rush Limbaugh
#58. I don't think marriage is a civil right, but I think that being able to transfer property is a civil right.
Barack Obama
#60. Gay rights is just a matter of time. Look at the polls. Worrying about gay marriage, let alone gay civil unions or gay employment rights, is a middle-age issue. Young people just can't see the problem. At worst, gays are going to win this one just by waiting until the opposition dies off.
Gail Collins
Famous Authors
Popular Topics
Scroll to Top
