The Oxford English Dictionary defines marriage as the “formal union of a man and a woman by which they become husband and wife,” but a group of same-sex marriage activists in San Francisco argue that this definition is out-dated.
In light of the Supreme Court’s recent rulings on same-sex marriage, the new Hack Marriage movement aims to change the dictionary definition of marriage by replacing the traditional definition with a more current one.
The group wishes to change the definition to “the formal union of two people by which they become partners for life.”
Hack Marriage distributes stickers with their updated definition, and encourages activists to print out the stickers from their website and place them in dictionaries in public libraries and bookstores.
“We envision a city where every library and every bookstore has a hacked dictionary that reflects this more accurate meaning of marriage,” a representative for Hack Marriage told a blogger. “Because when our definitions change, we change. As a people, as a culture, as a society.”
“If the day ever arrives when same-sex ‘marriage’ is as universally accepted as the male-female definition has been throughout history, then the dictionary definition will likely change as well,” Peter Sprigg, a senior fellow at the pro-traditional marriage Family Research Council, told The Daily Caller. “But in a country where 37 of the 50 states still define marriage as the union of one man and one woman, the Oxford American Dictionary should retain that definition, too.”
The Oxford English Dictionary officially updates their anthology four times a year, adding new words and updating previous entries.
Currently 35 states have Defense of Marriage Laws an only 12, plus the District of Columbia, have legalized same-sex unions.