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February 8, 2004

A Proud New Era of Intolerance

News yesterday was that Ohio's governor passed a restrictive religious definition of marriage as law. This makes Ohio the 38th state to ban gay marriage, and one of a few to refuse to allow state benefits to unmarried heterosexual domestic partners. It also makes it that much more likely that a constitutional ban on gay marriage -- however unconstitutional it might be to establish religion like that -- will pass.

Taft, a Republican, denied assertions that the law promotes intolerance. He said the new law would send a strong positive message to children and families.

And that message is: the message that God sent with his Only Son is ridiculous. We should not be required to love everybody and let God decide who is a sinner when Judgement Day comes. Only those who are convinced of their righteousness should be allowed to live in peace and love on this Earth.

Not only does the law fly in the face of Jesus's teachings -- an argument which would hold no water if we were not talking about people who profess to be true Christians acting in accordance with their faith -- but it does little or nothing to make things better for families and children in Ohio or elsewhere.

For example, one thing that might make marriages stronger is if only people who were really prepared for marriage could marry. But in Ohio, there are almost no restrictions on marriage, other than heterosexuality.

Sure, there's restrictions regarding consanguinity, but there's no waiting period, no blood test, no required premarital counselling. You can get married with parental or court permission at 16. Furthermore, they even recognize common-law marriages that took place before 1991 (and are one of only a very few states to do so). § 3105.12 of the Ohio code says, "Except as provided in division (B) of this section, proof of cohabitation and reputation of the marriage of a man and woman is competent evidence to prove their marriage, and, in the discretion of the court, that proof may be sufficient to establish their marriage for a particular purpose."

So basically, it's really easy to get married in Ohio. It's also really easy to get divorced or to annul a marriage (if you change your mind, you only need to attest that the marriage was not consummated). Nobody's been able to explain how banning gay people (some of whom are parents) from getting married makes things better for families and children. I think families would be better off if the state instituted a 6-month waiting period before allowing a marriage, with mandatory premarital counselling.

Speaking of mandatory counselling, is it easier to get an abortion than to get married? Nope. I mean, abortion kills a child, right, and a badly thought-out marriage just makes a child's life a living hell. § 2317.56 of the Ohio code indicates that 24 hours before abortion, a woman must be provided with propaganda designed to convince her not to abort, information on the nature of abortion and its risks, the nature of pregnancy and its risks, a doctor's estimate of the age of her baby, and counselling. So it's better to talk a woman out of abortion and let another unwanted child be born into a household that is probably poor, where it will be resented and probablyt abused, then it is to make sure that every marriage is a strong marriage.

So basically, we're not talking about a state that really, really cares about the welfare of families and children. There's plenty of childhood poverty in Ohio; children still go hungry at night there. Women are still abused by their husbands or boyfriends, children are still abused by their male relatives or family connections. There's no special aura of security around Ohio keeping child abductions or sexual abuse from happening there. None of this addresses any of the real problems actually facing children and families in Ohio.

All it does is keep committed couples from marrying.

Posted by ayse on 02/08/04 at 11:19 AM