We
all hear people adamantly proclaim: “I'm against gay marriage”.
If this is one's personal opinion, fine. But to lobby for its
outlaw? That's a big leap. A leap many want to make
without really giving a thought to what they're jumping into. Let's
play along. Is this doable? Couple scenarios:
1)
A man and woman go to the court house to get a marriage license.
Before they take possession of the document they make it very clear,
“we are both atheists. We do not, and never will, believe in any
God or religion. Do we still get the license”?
Yes.
2)
A man and woman go to the court house to get a marriage license.
Before they take possession of the document they make it very clear,
“we are both sterile. We will never reproduce for the rest of our
lives. Do we still get the license”?
Of
course they do.
Now,
ask them why it should be illegal for gays to marry.
If
their answer includes religion of any kind, no matter how subtle, it
must be thrown out. Atheists marrying negates any talk of religion
when it comes to nuptials.
If
their answer has anything to do with reproduction, it must be thrown
out. Sterility negates any talk of propagation of the species.
I
have never heard an answer that didn't include one of these two
subjects. I have heard, however, plenty of consequences they feel
will follow—schools required to teach tolerance, Social Security
will go up, etc.--but these are merely speculation to bolster their
position. And in every case are discriminatory.
The
core of their reasoning turns out to be religion based.
After
their answer:
“Great,
you want to outlaw gay marriage. Your first step: pass a law
prohibiting atheists and/or sterile folks from getting married. Once
you've successfully done this, we can talk of keeping gays from
tying the knot.
Good
luck with that”.
