[quote name='MrBadExample']First off you're just nitpicking so I'm not going to waste a lot of time on this but...[/quote]
No, I'm not nitpicking, which is precisely my point. There is a significant difference between the actual definition of a word and someone's personal definition that they are using.
[quote name='MrBadExample']If one year you take a census and only count slaves as 3/5 of a person and the next time you count them as a whole person, you definition of "population" has changed[/quote]
But the definition of "population" itself has not changed! The only think that has changed is how particular people are counted towards this population figure. The definition of the word itself remains unchanged.
[quote name='MrBadExample']If once a voter meant a land-owning white man[/quote]
Stop right there. See, the definition of "voter" has NEVER meant "a land-owning white man." It is simply "one who votes" or "one who can vote." Laws can change and affect the people who can vote, but again, that does not change the definition of the word itself.
[quote name='MrBadExample']And here are the definitions of marriage from dictionary.com:
1. a. The legal union of a man and woman as husband and wife.
b. The state of being married; wedlock.
c. A common-law marriage.
d. A union between two persons having the customary but usually not the legal force of marriage: a same-sex marriage.
You can note that only one of those specifies a man and a woman.[/quote]
First of all, definition A is the primary definition of marriage, and the one that matches historical, societal, and religious definitions of marriage. Definition B simply follows from A. Definition C isn't really a definition at all, but a completely separate entity, as is D. C and D are both marriages in name only, and possibly in the legal sense, but are not marriages in the traditional, historical, societal, and religious senses. Note also that both C and D are qualified definitions, where the definition includes the word being defined. That's a tip-off right there.
[quote name='MrBadExample']And regardless of that fact, definitions constantly change and they should.[/quote]
No, they shouldn't. Words mean things! Redefining words simply dilutes their meaning.
For example, let's say that I'm a World War II veteran. Now, for some reason, the government decides to allow anyone to become a World War II veteran, as long as they fill out an application and pay a $10 processing fee. Now, there are people walking around who were not even born during World War II, who are suddenly World War II veterans! Is that hurting actual veterans? Yes, because it dilutes the meaning of the word "veteran." It used to mean something, and now that meaning has been diluted and expanded to something less than what it used to mean.
[quote name='MrBadExample']Denying gay people the right to marry doesn't help anyone.[/quote]
It helps keep the definition of marriage from being degraded more than it already has. Marriage has already diminished to the point when people think it is fine to get married, then get divorced a week later when things don't work out. We don't need marriage to become any more diluted.
[quote name='MrBadExample']It's funny how some people want to deride the gay community as being very promiscuous, yet when they want to get married and commit to one another, they don't like that either.[/quote]
Hey, commit to each other all you want. Just don't call it marriage.
[quote name='MrBadExample']Edit: As for the rest of your post, I think Ikohn4ever covered that pretty well. and I don't need to repeat what he said.[/quote]
I'll address that too, while I'm here: My point is, why shouldn't a single person be able to get married all by himself? I mean, he's not hurting anyone, and maybe he doesn't want the stigma of not being married! Why shouldn't he be allowed to do that?
The answer: because it further dilutes what a marriage means. A marriage used to mean a man and woman who made a lifelong commitment to each other. Lately, it means a man and woman who decide that maybe they want to get married for a little while, as long as it stays pretty easy and doesn't cause too much trouble. Pretty soon, it might mean any two people who decide that they want to commit to each other for however long. Eventually, maybe it will mean any person who decides that they want to be married, whether they have someone else in their life or not. And it that point, the word "marriage" has become completely meaningless.
ing what! Sorry, Webster, you have to buy a new dictionary. Get over it.