On Friday Dec 4,2009 the ladies of The View on their “Hot Topics” segment were discussing how because of the passing of Proposition 8, a measure that banned gay marriage in California, is trying to submit into next year’s polls a proposition banning divorce. This act, as they said, has brought negative opinions from both the left and the right. The ladies, led by Whoopi Goldberg, instead of exploring the real issue here, which was a minority civil rights, instead started exploring that marriage needs divorce so everyone can have a “way out.”

Joy Behar, a gay marriage supporter, was very vocal about this, leaving Elizabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd, a divorced woman herself, against it. Joy argued that you need a way out, otherwise one spouse would kill the other just to get out of said marriage. The arguments back and forth were – as you would expect – silly, however, Sherri (to my surprise) said something insightful (and I’ll paraphrase): “If you go into marriage with a way out, you will never work on your marriage so it can last.”

When the topic starts as a gay marriage/civil rights/equality debate instead of debating pros or cons for/against gay marriage, the ladies -unwillingly- discuss how heterosexual couples actually regard the “sanctity of marriage.” The ladies were discussing marriage as a college course that if you don’t like you can drop. As a shirt that if it doesn’t fit you can return. Marriage is not a decision which should be taken lightly and thinking there’s “a way out.” Marriage is a commitment. When you commit to someone, you say vows, vows that just like in a contract you should honor – for better or for worse. It took actress Portia Di Rossi, to teach the ladies that marriage is not hard-work and reminded them that gay marriage is a civil rights issue not a religious one. She also taught Elizabeth Hasselback that the word “marriage,” really has a value not only for the gay community, but for everyone. (Watch what Portia Di Rossi said below). How can the gay community leave the fate of their rights up on the hands of people who don’t respect marriage themselves?