Gay Marriage

Ames over at Submitted to a Candid World finally put that law degree to work and put together a very straight-forward and easy to understand summary of some of the legal language surrounding gay marriage.

The comment I left with Ames reads as follows:

Essentially we all agree that marriage itself is a social construct. We further agree that monogamy is also a social construct. So then we have monogamous marriage. If I understand the nature of protected classes, it is allowable to create arbitrary barriers to a social institution so long as they are applied equally across all classes. For example, the drinking age is 21 which is an arbitrary barrier. That is an okay form of discrimination so long as it is applied equally across all protected classes (catholics can’t drink under 21, men can’t drink under 21, blacks can’t drink under 21, etc). What is NOT okay is denying access to a part of or an entire protected class without applying this same restriction across the board. So for instance if we made the drinking age 21 but lowered it for Catholics and blacks, that would be unfair.

Gays aren’t asking to change the social constructs themselves, just to eliminate a barrier that is unconstitutionally applied to an entire class of people. For polygamy to work we would have to create a new social construct i.e. plural marriages. Then access could be granted to whatever parties society chooses, so long as all equivalent protected classes get access. If society decides to create legal plural marriages, that’s okay as long as the criteria for access is applied equally across all protected classes.

While I still have a LOT of reservations about gay marriage on moral and religious grounds and I remain concerned about the longterm effects it will have on society, my immediate anxiety over the slippery slope to other redefinitions is somewhat lessened. This is an important step forward for me personally in my political evolution. It’s good to have these moments when you must admit to a change of opinion on a subject. It breeds humility and humility is an important trait for all of us.