Procreate or die!

[babylonsister]

Procreate or die!
Posted September 22nd, 2007 at 9:15 am


Guest Post by Morbo

If judges are going to persist in denying an entire class of people the basic right to marry, they are going to have to come up with better arguments. “Marriage is about procreation” just isn’t cutting it.

This week, the Maryland Court of Appeals, the state’s highest judicial body, upheld a 1973 law banning same-sex marriage in the state. In reaching that decision, The Washington Post reported, the court said same-sex marriage can be banned because of opposite-sex marriage’s link to child rearing.

The appeals court majority acknowledged that gay couples can be suitable parents but gave weight to the state’s argument that preserving the legal definition of marriage encourages childbearing in households made up of a father and mother. “Marriage enjoys its fundamental status due, in large part, to its link to procreation,” the majority wrote.

Pardon me for being blunt, but what a crock. Let me begin with the obvious: Marriage isn’t about procreation. It’s about two people who are in love deciding they want to be together in a manner that is recognized by the state, thus receiving certain benefits and recognitions that are available only to those whose union is so recognized.

Sure, lots of opposite-sex couples decide to have children. But others do not by choice or find that they cannot conceive. Are these marriages somehow less valid in the eyes of the state?

And here’s a newsflash for the Maryland court: Gay couples can have children, and some even procreate.

more...

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/12963.html#more-12963

[kdmorris]

1. I'm with you... what a crock!!

So, by that definition, it should now be illegal for women past menopause to get married to a man, as well. Doesn't matter if she's had children in the past. If she's not able to have children with the new husband, it's apparently illegal.

Who knew that, in an attempt to deny gay couples equal rights, the government itself was going to destroy marriage trying to come up with a good excuse to discriminate against them?

[AnnieBW]

2. I live in Maryland

and my husband and I are childless (in that "unable to conceive" and "unwilling to spend $10,000 or more to pass along our sucky genetics to any potential offspring" demographic). We live in Maryland. I guess we're breaking the law, then?