The Case Against Same-Sex “Marriage”

Abstract

Argues that same-sex “marriage” is a logical and practical impossibility and has serious implications for both other aspects of family law and the respect for human life and children in our culture. Asserts that the movement for same-sex “marriage” is a logical outgrowth of our culture’s separation of sex and procreation. Argues that the basis for opposition to this movement may be the residual reservoir of traditional understanding about marriage in the American public. It is because of an abiding interest in marriage based in our culture and especially in our law that one cannot talk about the immorality of homosexual sexual acts without talking about marriage because one way — a perfectly adequate way — to describe what is immoral about sodomy is to say that it is a non-marital sexual act and that is because it is the teaching of the Catholic Church that marriage is the principle of all upright sexual activity. The position of marriage in our culture and in our law is quite degraded now. Most times it is difficult to get even a neutral audience to see the connection between the laws that prohibit consensual sodomy and marriage (i.e., why such laws are needed to help buttress marriage), although those connections can be made and should be made. What I address in this paper, specifically, are the dangers of the legal recognition same-sex “marriage.” The dangers have something to do with marriage. Legally recognizing same-sex “marriage” is dangerous, and it ought not to happen. It violates moral truth. It is not exactly right to say that same sex “marriage” is immoral, although it’s not wrong to say that. It is not quite right to say that it is morally impermissible. This is because expressions such as these suggest that it is something that can be done, but ought to be prohibited — like abortion. Abortions can happen, but they ought to be prohibited and they are seriously immoral. Same-sex “marriage,” however, is impossible, given what marriage really is. It is simply not possible for two men to be married to each other or for two women to be married to each other. So the short answer is that the danger in recognizing same-sex “marriage” is that the law will recognize as valid and capable of being treated like any other marriage something which in fact is impossible.