Sometimes people who claim to be Objectivist make it hard for me to claim to be Objectivist. Case in point: This guy claims that the mere concept of same-sex marriage is impossible; it would no longer be a marriage.
That is, of course, ridiculous.
The argument from epistemology is entirely wrong because the definition of marriage is not dependent on gender, but on role; specifically the role of a spouse as a mutual lifelong provider, lover, and supporter. Procreation is not a pre-requisite, and it certainly could never be the defining pre-requisite since many children are born out of wedlock, and many married heterosexuals never procreate. Same-sex marriage is not some new concept trying to usurp the label of marriage. There are many precedents for gay marriage, and polygamy. If somebody was trying to marry their car or their dog, well then that would be a new concept since cars and dogs are incapable of love or making decisions.
Even if this argument had merit, it doesn’t even remotely address the practical reasoning behind the legalization of same-sex marriage– namely equal protection under the law. I’m referring to the difficulty of hospital visitation, end of life decisions, and, in many cases, different tax levels. Most of these cases can be alleviated to some extent, but not always fully, and rarely without a lot of unnecessary legwork. Legalizing same-sex marriage, regardless of your opinion that it violates the concept of marriage, would be the quickest and easiest way to solve this problem for the most people.
Lastly, during the little rant about the left, there is a big collision with hypocrisy. Here it is: “The Left opposes consent and favors force.”
Yes, and sometimes the pot calls the kettle black. Marriage has no business being regulated as a legal institution. It should be an independent contract, regardless of contracting parties. Opposing the legalization of same-sex marriage, even for high-filutin’ epistemological reasons, uses force to keep consenting homosexual adults from getting married. Come on, this stuff is obvious!
But the most laughable part of this article is summed up by this quote: “When in doubt, remember this: The political Left is wrong about everything.”
Really?! You’re going to sink this low, when almost all of the Left’s arguments fail based on their own lack of merit? I thought rationality was supposed to be the hallmark of Objectivism. There’s no shortcut. You can’t proclaim to be Objectivist and brand your arguments as rational. This is as bad as half-assed Republican Objectivists (or “admirers”) like Paul Ryan, who don’t understand that rationality and religion are mutually exclusive. If you’re going to call yourself Objectivist, then at least try to be rational.
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