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Monday, July 2, 2012

Traditional Marriage: The relationship between morality and law

After a long absence we return to the subject of traditional marriage and in particular, the nature of the relationship between law and morality.

Up to this point we have covered the distinction between being and action, the male/female distinction, the purpose of sexual relations, the nature of marriage, and the nature of the family.  But now we have a question.  If we were to grant all of the premises found in the links above, why is it the case that the law cannot allow for same-sex "marriages?"

We have discussed to some degree the relationship between morality and law.  In short, the law is the encoding of a moral viewpoint such that is enforced on the population as a whole.  Because of this, the laws of a society need to correspond to the reality of nature and morality.  Thus if the state were to recognize gay "marriage", this creates a number of issues.

The first is one of principle.  By recognizing gay "marriage", the state is attempting to redefine reality to suit political preferences.  Granting the principles laid out, gay "marriage" simply doesn't exist.  It is akin to putting unicorns on the endangered species list or legislating the value of pi to 3.  Thus for the state to recognize gay "marriage" is essentially the attempt of the state to redefine reality.  And when a state attempts to redefine reality, you have a tyranny.

The second is that by taking a stance in favor of gay marriage we are already trying to coerce the view that gay "marriage" is in fact good.  The trend has been that when gay "marriage" is recognized, opposing views are met with an attempt to be forced out of the public square.  Thus there is a legitimate fear that such a radical departure from reason by legislating a view that does not conform to the truth will have a devastating effect on society as a whole.

Finally (and most importantly) there are the children of such a "marriage."  Given how the gay relationship is fundamentally at odds with the nature of marriage and the family, children are ultimately harmed by the deprivation of their natural parents and the presentation of a marriage that is fundamentally at odds with reality.  This is a form of abuse, and should be discouraged by society, not enshrined in law.

There is also the issue of the erosion of marriage as a legal institution.  But this is a discussion for another post as the attempt to legalize gay "marriage" is but one step in a long process that has been occurring for the past 40+ years.

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