A wonderful post by Professor Thies ~ at Libertarian Republican ~ noting the impossibility of the various options outside the “one-male/one-female” classical view of marriage:
….The progressive socialist view of marriage is that it is an institution that the state finds convenient for various purposes. In this case, equal treatment under the law compels the recognition of homosexual unions as well as heterosexual. The liberal-conservative view is that marriage enables the state to identify paternity and, thus, better protect the rights of the children of the marriage. In the liberal-conservative view, the purpose of the state is to protect us, especially the most vulnerable among us. These contrasting views of marriage were spelled out in the majority and minority decisions in the landmark Massachusetts court case, Goodridge v. Department of Public Health.
The craziness of where we are at this time is that the state recognizes civil unions among gay couples as marriages, from which children cannot be produced, but doesn’t recognize civil unions among three or more consenting adults, from which children can be produced. Furthermore, the state only recognizes civil unions based on sexual relationships, and discriminates against others who would like the tax treatment and benefits associated with marriage but whose attraction isn’t erotic. Think of sisters who are spinsters, but there are innumerable possibilities.
In the liberal-conservative view, bigamy is two distinct marriages, and establishing paternity is not a problem. Polygamy has a long history, and is or has been recognized by religions as well as states. Polyandry, on the other hand, is problematic with respect to paternity. Modern technology challenges the former presumptions. One of the men in a gay marriage might contract with a women to acquire one of her eggs, and with a second woman to bring the fertilized egg to term, and upon the birth of the child agree that his gay partner be the co-parent. But, the real advances in technology that undermined the former presumptions are the pill and penicillin. The pill made sexual relations and maternity into two choices, and penicillin in theory made promiscuity less risky.
As to where we are headed is clear. It is to the collectivization of children as was contemplated by Plato in The Republic a long time ago. The other side knows and has always known what it’s all about. An absolute totalitarian and communist state. They call it utopia….
And from Gay Patriot:
“Don’t be ridiculous,” they said. “No way does same sex marriage lead to legalized polygamy. The slippery slope argument is a complete fallacy, because enactment of one liberal social policy has never, ever led to the subsequent enactment of the logical extension of that liberal social policy. Ever!”
Well, they may have been wrong about the coefficient of friction on that particular incline. Commenter Richard Bell notes the following: Judge Cites Same-Sex Marriage in Declaring Polygamy Ban Unconstitutional.
[….]
Since marriage is no longer about creating a stable environment for children, and has become (and this mainly the fault of heterosexual liberals) about personal fulfillment, validation, and access to social benefits, there literally is no constraint on how much more broadly it can be redefined.