In light of the recent New York State decision legalizing same-sex marriage and some conversations i had at last week's SF Pride, I have always wondered about some of the arguments people use against the legalization of same-sex marriage. I have very good friends with whom I disagree on this and many other issues of life and culture. These are not unintelligent people, yet, we see fundamental issues of faith and life in such different ways. With these folks in my mind with this post, I want to take this time to see if there can be some helpful dialogue about one particular argument raised against legal recognition of same-sex marriage namely, "Same sex marriage is a threat to traditional marriage." I do not assume that everyone who is against same-sex marriage uses this argument, but I think it is fair to say that this is one of the mostly widely used arguments heard in the public discourse.
I posted a similar question a few days ago on my regular blog and with a short time there were over 300 comments and for the most part it has stayed passionate, thoughtful and respectful. Feel free to dive in there as well as engage here.
I know that some people probably think that folks who are against the legalization of same-sex marriage should not be given a forum to argue their point, but I also think that if we cannot figure some way of modeling healthy dialoge and debate about ideas and issues that impact the lives of people in a way that preserves the dignity of one another, then we have lost our way as a culture and society. I have been clear where I stand on the question of same-sex marriage, I currently sit on the Board of CA Faith for Equality and I have blessed same-sex commitments in the past, so I do think that offering this kind of forum is good for us all.
So if you hold this position about same-sex marriage, and feel up to putting your words out there for interaction, please answer me this question,
How is same-sex marriage a threat to my traditional "one man and one women" 20+ year marriage or to the possible traditional marriage that any of my daughters may choose to enter into in the future?
So there you have it. I know that there is likely to be some feisty interaction about this here, but I hope I have laid down an invitation that will encourage passionate, yet gracious responses.