The Gay Marriage Debate

Six states and the District of Columbia have legalized gay
marriage. Most so-called liberals are happy about that. Most
conservatives are not. As a libertarian, I think all consenting
adults who want to commit to a life partner ought to be treated the
same way.
To air this issue on my Fox Business show, I invited Brian Brown
of the National Organization for Marriage and David Harsanyi,
libertarian columnist at The Blaze.
Brown says gay marriage threatens marriage between a man and a
woman. I asked him to explain.
"Marriage is a public good," he said. "When you redefine
marriage, you redefine it for everyone. In states that have
redefined marriage, we've seen serious consequences, ranging from
what is taught in schools?kids in first grade in Massachusetts are
taught that it's the same thing to grow up and marry a boy or a
girl?to what happens to religious organizations or organizations
that just believe marriage is the union of a man and a woman. ...
You see Catholic Charities' adoption agency essentially being
forced out of being able to adopt kids because the state said it is
discriminating."
Whoa. Those are three separate points. I don't see a problem
with the first: If they redefine marriage to include gays, that
doesn't diminish my marriage. And if kids are taught that
gay marriage is OK, so what?
"They're being told that their parents' views are essentially
bigotry," said Brown.
It's another reason we should have school choice.
On his third point, if a state tells Catholic Charities they may
not honor their beliefs and limit adoptions to straight couples,
that's a problem of Big Government, not gay marriage.
Harsanyi says he has a way around the whole fight.
"It is a mistake to allow government to define what marriage
should be, gay or not. It should get out of the business of
defining marriage at all and let people engage in ... a private
relationship."
OK by me. Who needs the government's sanction anyway?
"When you're getting married, you are not thinking, 'Wow, the
government has endorsed this relationship.' That is not very
romantic."
I pointed out that marriage involves many legal issues,
including alimony, child support, hospital visitation rights,
inheritance, and adoption.
"Within five minutes of my idea coming to fruition, a whole
industry would be formed with prefab legal documents that would
just allow you to have the sort of relationship you want with the
parameters you want legally," Harsanyi said.
You'd work it out as a private contract. Some hospitals would
say we allow same-sex couples; others would say no.
"More than that, I would say in the contract that my spouse is
allowed to visit me in the hospital."
Brown was unconvinced.    
"The state's interest in marriage is that this is the
institution by which we create stable families where the kids can
be connected to both their mother and their father. ... In states
that have gone this direction, we see things like attempts to
recognize three parents, because there is a biological father and
two mothers."
Again, so what? I don't care if there are three fathers and six
mothers. If it's a stable relationship and the kids are connected
with their parents, that's great.
"Deconstructing marriage is a very bad idea," said Brown. "We
see the rising rates of divorce and unwed motherhood. There is a
direct correlation. If you look at any social indicators?children
raised without mothers and fathers?you see higher rates of
incarceration, juvenile delinquency that cost the state money."
Sorry, but I still don't see what divorce and unwed motherhood
have to do with gay marriage. It's mostly straight people who are
doing the divorcing and unwed mothering.
"All of that ... started long before anyone brought up gay
marriage," Harsanyi said.
"The state should support what is true and good and beautiful,"
Brown countered. "And it's true and good and beautiful that
marriage is the union of a man and a woman. Men and women are
unique and special."
I still don't get his argument.
And I definitely don't want the state to decide what is good and
beautiful.
John Stossel is host of Stossel on the Fox Business Network.
He's the author of Give Me a Break and of Myth, Lies, and Downright
Stupidity.
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