The questions really are. Would it benefit society if we allowed same sex people to marry? Would it benefit society if we allowed polygamy? Or marriages between siblings and close family members? And lastly, marriages between animals and humans?
The reason we don't allow these types of unions to be sanctified by law is they fall outside what most people see as our cultural norms. We know these types of relationships exist in large numbers. Perhaps gay relationships being the largest group. And we also know that many of them are happy, healthy and supportive.
One fear is that by allowing same sex marriages we would be encouraging the behavior, and more young adults, not quite sure of their sexual orientation yet, would experiment and die of AIDS in greater numbers. Of course, the opposite could happen and gay relationships might be stabilized, which would lesson promiscuous behavior and prevent the spread of AIDS.
As to family members, one fear is if we allow marriages between close family members we would cause a rise in the birth of more children who are genetically dis-functional. However, we are moving closer and closer to a time when genetic tests could be routine, and corrections could be made in the early stages of birth. Also, we have many relationships today between husband and wife which predispose them toward genetic problems and we don't regulate their behavior.
I am not sure what the large fears are with regard to polygamy. Seems to me to be a much less risky change than the other two. Animals? Yuck! but intellectually, the dangers seem relatively insignificant also. And I am sure, there are many people who love their cats and dogs so much, they would go the route toward marriage if given the opportunity.
Just some musings, but I wonder if the people here who are so supportive of same sex marriages have any cultural problem with these other types of marriages?
Michael |
