I think conservatives and libertarians err when they refer to “gay marriage” as such. They unwittingly concede a tremendous amount of ground when using that term. If I was on the left I would secretly be quite happy every time I saw a conservative or libertarian use it.
But since I’m not on the left, I cringe. In my view, the issue is really about the redefinition of marriage. Calling it a redefinition is the correct viewpoint since that is what is at stake. The historical definition of marriage included two important concepts.
1. The innate procreative abilities between men and women. No such ability exists in same sex sexual activity. This point alone makes it very clear that sexual activity between a man and a woman is not equal to sexual activity between people of the same sex.
2. “Presumption of paternity.” This is an important and historical legal doctrine that assumes the biological connection of the father to the children, due to the husband and wife’s exclusive sexual activity, and legally attaches the woman’s husband to any children she bears in their marriage. “Presumption of paternity” will be changed to “presumption of parenthood” if marriage gets redefined, and this is not a biologically based attachment of a parent to the child, it is a purely legally based one, which is therefore subjective. It removes the legal acknowledgement of the biology of parenthood and leaves us with purely state definitions.
Let’s turn the kaleidoscope and view it another way by examining the “marriage equality” argument. This argument is fallacious. First, everybody has the right to marry somebody of the opposite sex. There are, however, certain limitations on this right, such as a limitation against marrying somebody who is already married, marrying somebody too young, marrying somebody incapacitated, and marrying a close relative. Notice how the state has placed limitations on marriage – it’s not an unlimited “right.” Notice also how love is not part of this: the state makes no requirement that love be present. It is not the state’s job to judge the love component, nor is it the state’s job to provide a suitable spouse.
Second, as mentioned above, heterosexual couplings are not identical to homosexual couplings. Heterosexual couplings are the sorts of couplings required for the continuation of our species. Strangely, the gay crowd already has a term for this: “breeders,” which is often used pejoratively in reference to heterosexuals. It is inconsistent to insist on redefining marriage under the “marriage equality” banner, when they, perhaps in a Freudian way when they use that term, admit that their sexual activity is not identical to heterosexual sexual activity.
But I do agree with them about “breeders.” They are different. The results of their sexual activity are different, and they have more responsibilities because of those results. Because of these things, they should be allowed a special status under the law. That status is what we call marriage.
Marriage provides protections and a framework for “breeders” to raise the next generation. This would of course include the next generation of gay kids, who certainly, as all kids do, receive a tremendous benefit having the law acknowledge the biological connections to their “breeder” parents. Even with this connection, it is absolutely heartbreaking how disenfranchised these kids can feel once they are older and in school. If the state is allowed to redefine marriage and therefore parenthood, will this ultimately increase or decrease gay kids’ sense of disenfranchisement? I believe it would increase it, because everybody wants to know who their biological parents are. If you’re not sure about this, just stroll on over to AnonymousUs.Org, a site devoted to the painful stories of donor conceived persons.
It is in everybody’s best interest to actively support traditional marriage. Traditional marriage safeguards the biological definition of parenthood, and it is a guardian against state encroachment into people’s lives. These things benefit everybody, including gays.
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