"But Gays Can Marry Too!"

Another response to Dust in the Light, Febrruary 23, 2005:

OK, so opponents of SSM (same sex marriage) are consistent in that gays and lesbians are free to marry persons of the opposite sex just as heterosexuals are.

But this ignores the fact that gays are lesbians are not allowed to marry the person who serves the same role in their lives as spouses do for heterosexuals. In this sense the marriage laws are discriminatory and inconsistent.

I understand that from a religious point of view, many religions don't recognize SSM. OK, so respecting the First Amendment, no church shall be compelled to perform a ceremony it does not approve of.

But from a governmental or legal standpoint, marriage is a set of legal relationship between two people that assigns certain rights and responsibilities between two people. Some of these rights and responsibilities concern children resulting from the marriage, but there is no requirement that married couples actually produce children. Heterosexual couples who cannot conceive children due to medical reasons are not prohibited from marrying in any way. So the inability of SSMs to produce children without the help of a third party is not a valid reason to prohibit them.

In America, we respect the rights of all to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. In general, the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness should not be impeded except when it interferes with the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of others.

While opponents of SSM repeatedly claim that "marriage will be destroyed" by SSM, no one has explained exactly how heterosexual marriages would be destroyed, or how heterosexual couples who want to create the healthiest possible family environment in which to raise their children would be prevented from doing so.