In Defense of Marriage

Try to have a conversation with a Social Conservative about Gay Marriage Equality, and one of the first things you’re going to hear is “Well if it’s ok for gays to marry, why not let brothers and sisters get married to each other?” And, when I try to come up with a reason why the government should prohibit the legal marriage of brother and sister, I can’t think of any reason the same arguments for gay marriage cannot be applied. Marriage is the legal framework of the agreement of two people to join their lives together, completely separate from issues of biological reproduction. I indulge in the same amount of snickering scorn as most people on the subject of incest, and then I realize that is exactly the emotional reaction homophobes have about gay marriage. And I’m not happy keeping that sort of company. Whether or not anyone should have a certain emotional reaction to homosexuality is besides the point; I utterly defend anyone’s right to have an negative feelings about fags, niggers, chinks, heebs, whatever. As long as you don’t impact anyone else’s life, as long as our laws treat everyone equally, you think and feel whatever you want. Which brings us back to incestuous marriage. If I fully support the idea of two consenting adults being able to have their union recognized by the state, if we’re going to be fair about it, seems it should really mean anybody, even if they’re siblings. Am I missing something here?