The Bigoted Supporters of Marriage Equality

/ Benjamin Palmer

So-called Marriage "Equality" RallyBecause I have issues with consistency, I have a problem with the way the term “equality” is getting tossed about right now in the debate over so-called homosexual marriage.

Ultimately, my problem is that the folks banging the marriage equality drum don’t actually believe in marriage equality. Justice Sotomayor asked Ted Olson an intriguing question––namely, if marriage is a fundamental human right, then what state restrictions can exist, specifically regarding polygamy and incest between adults.

Olson’s response was that it was “an entirely different thing.” Olson’s argument was that if the state prohibits polygamy, it is prohibiting conduct, but if it prohibits homosexual marriage it is prohibiting a right based based upon their status.

Examine that argument for a second.

First, I should point out that no one who stood in front of the Supreme Court is actually arguing for marriage equality, and Olson’s statements prove it. If we were to apply some critical thinking to the use of phrases like marriage freedom and marriage equality, then the vast majority of those using the phrase are themselves bigoted, since they don’t support anyone’s freedom to marry multiple partners (polygamy), or to marry their German Shepherd, or to marry their grandmothers. Since the debate is being framed in terms of marriage freedom and the bigots who oppose marriage equality, it’s worth mentioning just how bigoted its supporters are.

Furthermore, if the argument is that we must support marriage equality because it is a right based upon an individual’s status as homosexual, them we must also support polygamy based upon an individual’s status as bisexual, as well. Otherwise, we aren’t applying the same ethical, moral, and philosophical arguments to both classes of individuals, since both groups are said to be hard-wired towards specific sexual attractions as a natural state.

You see, if marriage is limited to just two individuals, then the bisexual cannot ever experience marital bliss, since they cannot be married to more than one individual at a time.

Let’s call this what it is––shoddy thinking. And while we’re at it, let’s stop using the terms marriage equality and marriage freedom. Because even those using the terms don’t really support the ideas behind them.

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