Thursday, January 17, 2008

Marriage, Law, Reason

Gay marriage is still a hot issue here in Iowa. The media reporting is hard to work with -- by structure, a long TV news report is 3-4 minutes, and it's difficult to put in enough detail to support critical thinking.

I did find Gregory Koukl's secular analysis about gay marriage helpful. He addresses the kinds of statements that come up in conversation:

"We’re being denied the same rights as heterosexuals. This is unconstitutional discrimination."

"They said the same thing about interracial marriage."

"We shouldn’t be denied the freedom to love who we want."

"Marriage is about love."

"Marriage is constantly being redefined."

"Marriage is a social construction we can redefine as we please."

So I encourage to read through this. I think he has a good model for addressing the issue in a way that fosters more dialogue.

Now I'm still trying to sort through the ideas around state-supported civil unions that are distinct from marriage. (If you want to share your thoughts on this, or point me to other resources, that would be great.)

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