Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Same-sex marriage: Liberalizing other laws had unintended results

Regarding the current debate about same-sex “marriage,” let’s take a look at how a few other issues were dealt with in the past, and how they have brought changes to our society and culture. Maybe then we can make wise decisions.

Divorce was liberalized because there were those who were in really bad marriages and the compassionate thing was to ease the divorce process for them so they would not have to endure that long and painful scenario.

It was also thought that the children would be happier if they did not have to witness their parents quarreling and fighting. They would be better off, and society would benefit, right?

But marriage itself has been cheapened, and countless children have suffered from the lack of a stable two-parent home. We have damaged a whole generation, and the effect on our society and culture has been enormous.

Abortion was liberalized because there were those women who were pregnant by rape, or who were too poor to raise another child, or who were young victims of incest, and the compassionate thing was to ease the abortion restrictions for them so they would not have to bear an unwanted child.

It was also thought that those children would be abused and neglected anyway. These women would be better off and society would benefit, right?

But life itself has been cheapened, and countless women have suffered with the after-effects of guilt and regret at the killing of their unborn children, besides making a huge profit industry for the abortion providers. We have lost a whole generation, and the effect on our society and culture has been enormous.

These changes seemed like a good idea at the time, though, didn’t they? But it is hard to put the genie back in the bottle.

Now we are faced with a new challenge, that of homosexuals demanding the “right” to be married, just like heterosexual couples, who sometimes don’t even bother with the “piece of paper.” So what will be the effect on our society and culture if this is “liberalized?”

In the aforementioned situations, those who wanted changes appealed on the basis of sad stories that tugged at your heartstrings: Stated again, the wife trapped in a bad marriage to an abusive drunken husband, the woman who was gang-raped, or worse yet, the young girl who was molested by her uncle, etc. How could anyone be so cold as to allow these people to suffer so much?

These days, the sad story is about the person in the long-term homosexual relationship who cannot visit her dying companion in the hospital nor claim health benefits, legal or property rights, etc.

But remember this: Hard cases make for bad laws, and the effects will have unintended, and most likely, negative consequences on our culture and society.

Judith Simpson

Fayetteville, Ga.