SAME-SEX PARENTING: Ben Bateman replies to Michael Triplett and Mike Pignatello

[Ben Bateman is an attorney in Amarillo, Texas.]

Michael Triplett criticizes the "utopian fantasy" of every child being raised by a mother and father, then uses its impossibility as an argument for SSM. Mike Pignatello makes essentially the same argument by comparing childrearing by single hetero parents to childrearing by gay couples.

The argument in essence is, "Ideal X is unattainable, therefore we should not hold X as an ideal." This syllogism is an attack on the very concept of a moral ideal, and ultimately on the idea of morality itself.

Those who propose this fallacy do so selectively. Will they argue that we can't stop people from smoking, therefore we should stop discouraging them from smoking? That we can't stop people from using drugs, so we shouldn't try to stop them?

Many people have their favorite versions of this argument, but no one applies it universally because it's fundamentally absurd. It's only a useful way to destroy the other fellow's moral ideals.

Here is my moral ideal: It's best for children to be raised by their own parents, who are married to each other. It's second best for them to be raised by one parent married to an opposite-sex step-parent. It's not as good for them to be raised by gay couples. It's also not good for them to be raised by single parents. The law should recognize these principles. If SSM supporters are going to destroy these ideals, they need a better argument than pointing out that the world is an imperfect place.
posted by Eve at 4:58 PM | link

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home