Arguments against from the Right

These are some of the other arguments against gay marriage from the right. I don’t find them as strong as the first one I outlined, but I’d like to discuss each one. I’ll discuss the counter-arguments from the left next.

R2. Will Twist Marriage – There are some gay groups that have been fairly open about wanting to join marriage so that they can alter the arrangement. Change it to more of an open style marriage. The right sees them as wanting in, just so they can corrupt marriage. I don’t think these people represent more than a tiny minority of gay couples that want to marry.

R3. Is Against the Bible – The reasoning is simple. Homosexuality is sinful. Allowing gay couples to marry stains a union that God created and blessed. The problem with this argument is that it relies solely on a religious argument. It needs some secular backbone to make it stand. For example, I’d reject any law that forbids eating pork just because it’s offensive to Jews and Muslims. (More on this in counter-arguments from the left.)

R4. Is Anti-Democratic – Supporters of gay marriage have almost completely abandoned any attempt at gaining legislative support. The preferred strategy has been to bring the issue to court and wait for a favorable ruling. Many on the right see this as a way of bypassing the will of the people. And I agree. Every time this has gone to a vote the traditionalist side has won. Usually by wide margins (70/30 or so).

R5. Will Grant Gov’t Approval to Homosexual Lifestyle – The argument here is that having the state grant a marriage license is like the people of the state approving of the relationship. People who don’t see homosexuality as an acceptable alternative don’t want to be granting approval. This is a tough argument and it creates the battlefield for those who fight over marriage instead of over civil unions. My take is that both sides are reading too much into the state’s stamp of approval. (But I’m very open to argument.)

R6. Will Lead to Polygamy – This one is gaining traction and coming to the forefront. The argument is simple, if society has no say about it’s basic institutions, what’s to stop the train at gay marriage? Is the next stop polygamy? There’s a certain force behind this argument. I think it goes to the judicial strategy that’s been followed so far. I’ve yet to hear any legal argument for gay marriage that didn’t open the door for polygamy.

I hope that plenty of people from the right will read this site. What other arguments did I miss?