Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 192
192 Three common objections to the above position will now be addressed, with brief responses to reflect on. Objection: love is the basic reason for marriage, gender should not matter. Also, one should have the right to marry whoever they want, just like religious liberty where one can choose to believe and practice what they want. In response, it should be noted love is actually not a criterion on the marriage license form, and is never asked. A license is actually there to see if a certain relationship meets State requirements, and is vigorously regulated. If love is the only fundamental criterion among consenting adults for marriage, why is marriage between a brother and sister not allowed, even if they are sterile? For that matter, why not allow brothers to marry each other to get the tax advantages as married people, or for the purpose of sponsorship in order to obtain an immigration visa? Or if two sisters started taking care of their deceased brother ’ s child, is that a marriage due to the fact that the two sisters love each other and may be living together in the same house taking care of a child? Obviously not! Real marriage is not simply a contract between any two-people making a commitment to each other - there is also the conjugal element as mentioned earlier. The fact is marriage is not some kind of right, but requires a license since society heavily regulates it as mentioned. A license requirement by its very nature is discriminatory in the public sphere. Even in the case of ‘ gay activists ’ pushing their cause, when it comes to the “ B ” in the term “ LGB ,” surely no one is arguing bisexuals should be allowed to marry someone of their own sex and opposite sex at the same time,