Gay Marriage in Spain
This Wednesday, Spain joined Belgium and The Netherlands as the only countries to legalize same-sex marriage.
Despite the huge public outcry, the Socialist legislature carried through the measure. The reaction on the blogosphere has been interesting.
Andrew Sullivan argues that the Spanish decison (combined with the Dutch and Belgian) creates problems for gays who desire to work in the U.S. but cannot bring their gay lover in a “married” fashion. Sullivan implies that because our country prohibits gay marriage, U.S. immigration policy unjustly discriminates against immigrants whose country of origin adopts a more radical approach toward marriage. The argument Sullivan advances is a simplistic ruse for serepitiously advancing same-sex marriage, similar to second-parent adoption. The United States is not required to acquiese to the societal norms of other countries, especially in the immigration area. To cry discrimination is coddlesome and weak.
Others use the Socialist Spaniards as an opportunity to promote their characterization of same-sex marriage as a “human rights” cause. After utterly confusing the rationale behind institution of marriage, Philo of the Baltimore Group insists that same-sex marriage is “inevitable” in the U.S. because it’s a “human right”–Americans just need to wake up. Well, you might want to consider moving Philo. I heard Canada is a great place to live. Support for traditional marriage is strong, vastly overpowering any desire for same-sex marriage. The activist judges love same-sex marriage but the American people stand opposed, for reasons I’ve expressed before.
Another blogger dismisses any notion of societal normality and leaps up-and-down about the Spainish decision. Too bad he forgets that by granting same-sex marriage rights to gays, that decision affects the entire polity and institutional mechanisms (courts, adminstrative agencies, etc.) that hold a society together. Hey Ed, you might want to read up on the Dutch and how their society is doing after legalizing gay marriage.
The Spanish paper, El Pais, editorializes that the whole country of Spain should feel “proud” to have same-sex marriage. Incorrectly, like Ed, they also state that “same-sex marriage doesn’t diminish or harm heterosexual marriage nor attack the traditional family.” Same-sex marriage is again a “rights” issue, a mere extension of the rights equally given to other Spaniards. Including Spanish husbands/sons and mothers/daughters? Of course not. Same-sex marriage advocates and supporters cannot make this argument because there are other relationships (polgamy, intra-family) that are prohibited from forming a marriage relationship, precisely because society does not benefit from those types of relationships qua heterosexual marriages.
Those radicals who support same-sex marriage will twist every “victory” toward their individualized movement toward “equality.” However, as most Americans recognize, the institution of traditional marriage is the bulwark of our society and tradtional marriage supporters (like myself) will not allow its deleterious effects run rampant among our society.
July 2nd, 2005 at 10:24 pm
Man, I was disappointed when I read this news. As a lover of all things Spanish, this came as a surprise to me. I’ve always thought Spaniards were the most hetero people out there. It’s too bad that the majority of conservative (religious) outcry against this went unheeded.