Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps
Perhaps Dan is right. Perhaps the Oregon Supreme Court would uphold gay marriage based on the notion that there are no “genuine” differences between gay couples and straight couples. And perhaps the ability of a normal heterosexual couple to produce progeny is too insignificant a detail for consideration. Oregon, after all, has very enlightened views on the termination of life: it has enacted assisted suicide, it is pro-choice, and the death penalty is in truth nonexistent in the state. So maybe the view of creating life is also enlightened to the point where such an ability is irrelevant.
If Oregonians decide through a vote to recognize the equal rights for all couples to marry, good; equal freedoms from government should be the goal for all citizens. But it would be absurd for the state’s Supremes to find that there are no genuine differences between a group that can naturally bear children and a group that cannot. There are those who would argue not all heterosexual couples can produce progeny, but that very small subset is created by a fluke of nature, whereas the latter must always rely the massive work of science and always require a third party. The fact that a third party is always required to produce progeny has truly astounding implications for the health of a union. The differences are important — and genuine. But anything, including an unhealthy reliance on judicial interpretation, can perhaps be rationalized in the search for the self-created glow of enlightenment.
