Wednesday, October 8, 2008

VP Debate

Joe Biden, during the VP debate, said that there should be no "civil rights" distinction between same-sex couples and heterosexual couples. This would check out if marriage were, indeed, a civil right defined in the constitution, but it isn't. Marriage is something that the state subsidizes because it is deemed to be good for the society at large. (Generally, heterosexual marriage is deemed to be good for society because it encourages procreation.) Therefore, affording special privileges to those who do not benefit society at large is discrimination against the rest of society. This isn't to say that I oppose gay marriage. I support the move to have it instituted in San Fransico if the vast majority of San Franciscans are willing to support it. The point is that this issue is much more complex than Senator Biden would lead us to believe.

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