ONLINE ONLY: Marry, marry quite contrary

The floodgates have been opened, at least in countries with "gay marriage" -- oxymoron though it is. In the Netherlands cohabitation contracts are in use and in Canada lawsuits for multiple marriages have begun. I also should mention the British woman who married a dolphin (though she didn't do so with a government license).\n"Gay marriage" is a stepping-stone to the complete degradation of the institution of marriage. If two people of the same sex can marry, why not have a polygamous wedding? Why not marry between species, even?\nThe argument against this slippery-slope theory is absurd: that marriage is traditionally defined as between two people. First off, proponents of gay marriage really oughtn't to be using traditional definitions in their arguments. Also, and more saliently, the polygamists have a much better claim to tradition than "gay marriage" proponents -- just ask any old-time Mormon or Saudi royal. Polygamy actually has a much longer tradition than same-sex marriages, which actually have no tradition at all.\nBut why should we honestly care? After all, whatever makes one happy can do no harm, right? Dead wrong. We are happiest when we are least responsible, and if our last end were happiness, would it be acceptable human behavior to copulate at random like animals regardless of consequences?\nMarriage is not about happiness, it's about children. Its purposes are to ensure the legitimacy of children, to provide both resources and care for their support and to provide a structure that ensures both the protection and moral upbringing of children. In short, it is an institution designed to stabilize society by stabilizing future generations. It is about love that takes the form of responsibility and duty, not childish infatuation.\nOf course marriage has its flukes here and there, such as abusive, inattentive or missing parents, but the institution has been an overwhelming success as far as building civilization is concerned.\nThe problem with "alternative lifestyles" is that they cannot reproduce this environment regardless of how much they try. A couple of the same sex cannot by any stretch of the imagination produce a child, and attempting to raise an adopted child in this impossible situation would be at best awkward. I'm no child psychologist, but I find that the situation's instability and muddled roles would greatly arrest child development.\nWith several state courts arguing for "gay marriage," such as in Washington, this issue has become urgent to this country. Responsible citizens should ignore the red-herring arguments about happiness and the "right to marry." Remember what marriage is designed to do and consider the possible consequences. On a small scale, erosion of marriage will create another bizarre, unstable and confused counterculture. On a massive scale, it can mean no less than the fall of civilization.\nThe fight to preserve an institution that has allowed the human race to become civilized and developed should be valued by everyone who appreciates the benefits it has allowed us to reap.