So yesterday my state representatives spent three hours debating civil unions for gay couples, and voted in favor of a ban.

Oh joy.

I still have yet for anyone to give me a compelling reason why the government should give a crap about what sort of legal, consensual adult relationships I enter into, but oh well. Marriage is a great place to actually practice that whole separation of church and state ideal we supposedly care about. Churches should be able to say whatever the hell they want about who is considered married in the eyes of whatever god they worship.

The government really shouldn't give a crap. In terms of conferring estates upon death or custody of minors, we need laws in place, but basically we should be able to confer those rights to whomever we want, regardless of whether or not we're living with them or sleeping with them.

But then there's this:

A bill approved Monday by the House Appropriations Committee would make Texas the first state to let lottery players buy tickets via the Internet and pay with a debit card.

So cheer up, gays! Your state has ensured that only one form of adult relationship is sanctioned by the state, but at least you'll be able to play the lottery without leaving your house!