SACRIFICE: Barry Deutsch replies to Eve

[I don't think we've yet "achieved disagreement," as they say; I'll reply briefly possibly tonight, definitely by tomorrow night.--Eve]

...There's an enormous difference in the sacrifice Eve wants same-sexers to make, versus the sacrifices she wants from others. In the examples Eve mentions, she's generally asking people to make sacrifices for the benefit of their own children. Married parents should not divorce because divorce hurts their own children; pregnant women should be forced to give birth for the sake of their own (unborn) children; fathers should be forced to pay child support for the benefit of their own children; etc.
In contrast, lesbians and gays are being asked to sacrifice their own well-being to help other people's families--which is not the same thing at all.

Even worse, Eve wants same-sex couples to sacrifice their own children's well-being to (allegedly) help other people's children. (I've posted before--here and here--on the benefits of same-sex marriage to the children of same-sex couples). ...

Eve doesn't really address the question of discrimination. ...

I don't believe that Eve's argument can justify legal discrimination against a minority. To see why, imagine that a social scientist put together reams of evidence proving that it doesn't benefit society when Jews get married. Even if the social scientist were factually correct, would anyone say that Jews should consequently be "treated differently," that is, banned from marrying?

Finally, I object to the implication that people are objects for society's benefit and nothing more. Certainly, society’s benefit is a legitimate factor to consider, but it's not the only factor. If a person benefits society should not determine if they have equal protection of the law. Homeless people, for instance, probably don't benefit society much, but that wouldn't justify taking away their right to vote, or speak freely--or, for that matter, to get married. Human beings are more than instruments to be used to benefit society, but Eve's argument doesn't seem to acknowledge that.

more
posted by Eve at 3:59 PM | link

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home