"It doesn't threaten my marriage"

The argument over same-sex marriage is often framed as a matter of compassion.

in regarding homosexual conduct as a sin, we demonstrate that we lack love and compassion. <snip> Does a mother who denies her children their urges for an excess of unhealthy food lack love and compassion for those children? Of course not, however, you might argue, candy imperils teeth and half pound hamburgers cause obesity, while homosexual behavior hurts nobody. This is precisely where our beliefs differ from his. We believe that homosexual behavior does indeed threaten the durability of a society; maybe not immediately but in time.

...continued in full post...

You see, clear and present threats, like angry Rottweiler dogs, are not so dangerous because people recognize the threat and avoid them. However dangers that take longer to develop can be truly terrifying. For instance, early in the 20^th century, people would seek therapeutic benefit in the tunnels of uranium mines in Montana. This horrifying practice persisted for decades before the dangers of radioactivity were fully understood. By the time they were understood, it was too late. By then large numbers of patients had contracted cancers, become diseased, and had died. By the time the perils of homosexual marriage become obvious, it might well be too late. That is our belief and we are entitled to share that belief with others.

So just what are the dangers of same-sex marriage? Can anyone point to a smoking gun (or a glowing uranium atom)? Maybe, maybe not. Reasonable people can disagree. However...

Call us “old-fashioned” or any other names you prefer, but human history does seem to bear out our view. It is hard, if not impossible, to think of a society for whom rampant homosexuality was not a symptom of impending extinction.

To be sure, the authors of this piece, a pastor and a rabbi, cite Biblical scripture as the basis for their opposition to same-sex marriage. Some will see this as a set of rules, arbitrarily drawn up and no better than any other set of rules in existence. However, it's quite possible that the books of Biblical law, like any number of other traditions, represent the distillation of centuries or even millennia of practical experience. We may not know exactly why one thing works and another fails any better than did those who wrote the laws in the first place. But they may have found out – the hard way – that the one thing works, and the other fails.

The authors argue that we may be on the path toward finding out, for ourselves, the hard way.

Whether same-sex marriage is a hole drilled in a lifeboat, or radiation in a uranium mine, or not, in a way I have no dog in that fight. I will eventually die, and the state of this civilization will be someone else's problem. I am not a parent, and am not likely to become one at this stage of my life. I expect to leave no progeny to inherit this civilization.

However, I am at least an "adopted uncle" to a number of kids, and I've become rather attached to them. If the presence or absence of same-sex marriage makes a difference in society, I'd like us to choose the condition that yields a better society for them to live in.