AUTHOR: GAYS COULD STRENGTHEN MARRIAGE: From FoxNews

How do you bolster the institution of marriage? Let homosexuals take part in it.

That's the argument of one gay-marriage advocate, who says allowing homosexuals to marry instead of cohabiting or partnering in civil unions will create one "gold standard" of relationships. He says to do otherwise would weaken the institution of marriage by creating a menu of relationships.

"Same-sex marriage is the first attempt in many years to move back toward the expectation of marriage as a universal norm and the gold standard. With gay marriage, you say that marriage is for everybody," said Jonathan Rauch, author of the new book "Gay Marriage: Why It Is Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America."

"When you get same-sex marriage, you eliminate the marriage-light alternative of civil unions and partnerships. You send the signal that if you want the benefits of same-sex marriage, get married," he said.

But opponents argue that the same people who support allowing gay marriage are the very ones who oppose marriage as a basic building block of society.

Rauch's vision is part of "a dream world that isn't engaging the correlation of forces in society ... taking us in the direction of de-institutionalizing marriage in such a way that will put many more children at risk," said David Blankenhorn, founder and president of the Institute for American Values. ...

By not legalizing gay marriage, society "would validate cohabitation" and turn "every successful gay couple into a good example," he added. Marriage "will become one of many lifestyles; an item on a menu."

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posted by Eve at 10:06 PM | link

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