“Would you criminalize fornication?” Desperate new argument against same-sex marriage laughed out of
Would you criminalize fornication? Desperate new argument against same-sex marriage laughed out of court
Straight people get drunk and pregnant! Gay people don't, so they don't need marriage! That was the real argument
GABRIEL ARANA
One of the most fascinating things about the same-sex marriage battle has been the evolution of the arguments against gay unions. Not long ago, gays and lesbians were not only considered unsuitable parents; they were an active danger to children, child molesters and abusers. Kids raised by same-sex couples were said to fare worse than those raised by heterosexual couples.
No such arguments were made in Chicago on Tuesday, where lawyers for Wisconsin and Indiana did their best to defend their states bans on same-sex marriage before a three-judge panel of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals. Their line of attack against gay marriage was quite the opposite: Gay parents are
too responsible to need marriage.
Thats right lawyers for Indiana and Wisconsin claimed that because a fleeting moment of passion can produce offspring, straight people need marriage as an incentive to stay together and raise their unintended children. Gay people, on the other hand, have to think and plan a lot harder if they want to be parents, so marriage doesnt concern them. In other words, because an ill-considered, alcohol-fueled romp between two straight people can lead to a baby, gays shouldnt be able to marry.
Judge Richard Posner, a Reagan appointee, could only respond with sarcasm. Would you criminalize fornication? he said. It sounds like a way of dealing with this unintended child problem.
The absurdity of Indiana and Wisconsins justifications for banning gay unions which are really something if you
listen to the audio highlights the central problem for opponents of same-sex marriage: As traditional justifications for anti-gay discrimination have lost legal ground, defending gay-marriage bans increasingly requires logical acrobatics.
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http://www.salon.com/2014/08/28/would_you_criminalize_fornication_desperate_new_argument_against_same_sex_marriage_laughed_out_of_court/