Admittedly, I come to the issue of gay marriage with all of the baggage of a liberal with gay friends. Still, I have been diligent in my pursuit of a clear and logical rationale behind opposition to gay marriage. Maggie Gallagher, president of the Institute of Marriage and Public Policy , offers the most even tempered and least overtly moralizing argument against gay marriage that I was able to find. Gallagher writes in response to the often quoted and fairly heated defense of gay marriage by Dr. Andrew Koppelman entitled "The Decline and Fall of the Case Against Same-Sex Marriage."
Gallagher suggests that society will be harmed by gay marriage because marriage is essentially an institution meant to facilitate the raising of babies; the future of all societies. Marriage helps insure a stable environment and places a premium on the importance of both a father and mother in the rearing of a happy, balanced and functional future member of society. It follows that conferring marriage rights to same-sex couples would confer legitimacy to an imbalanced relationship - and society as we know it will suffer a staggering blow.
Sorry, this is the best argument against same-sex marriage I could find - one that is neatly capsized with a single tabloid glance at famously "balanced", child producing marriages like this . The world might, in fact, be a better place if we all had moms and dads like Arnold and Maria or Barack and Michelle or George and Laura. But if there is enough love in the house, I'm sure all the Danny and Joes or Suzie and Jills of the world will also have a decent shot at helping to raise a balanced society.
I suspect that the only real tradition being protected here (wittingly or not) is our puritanical belief that sex must be limited to a procreational and not recreational activity. Homosexuality makes the inherent claim that there is life outside the missionary position. For some who have yet to venture beyond the title page of the Kama Sutra , this is a disturbing bit of carnal knowledge. Fear of the unknown can lead to unhealthy fixations.
The argument against same-sex marriage often feels medieval in its irrational obsessions. To my mind, it goes without saying that we should concentrate our energies on other people's orgasms - the ones belonging to those who we are having sex with. As for who other people marry, I'm pro-choice.
- Citizen Voices blogger Chris McConnell is a bookseller, freelance writer, & former & high school & English teacher & and odd jobber who lives in La Jolla.
