France Legalizes Gay Marriage

Actually, the headline reads like this:

France legalizes gay marriage after harsh debate

Now, maybe I'm crazy, but maybe, just maybe, changing the meaning and importance of a social institution that has lasted for millenia in the face of disagreement from half of your country isn't necessarily wise.   Not that it might not be wise.   Just that it's not necessarily wise.   It's always a little scary to assume that tens of millions of your fellow citizens' long-held traditional beliefs are not just incorrect, but immoral, or irrational, or bigoted.   In a way, that certainty on the part of the pro-gay-marriage Left in itself is a form of intolerance.

But, not to worry:

Justice Minister Christiane Taubira told lawmakers that the first weddings could be as soon as June.

"We believe that the first weddings will be beautiful and that they'll bring a breeze of joy, and that those who are opposed to them today will surely be confounded when they are overcome with the happiness of the newlyweds and the families," she said.

It's all flowers and show tunes and innocent fun!

Oh, and hepatitis.   Can't forget hepatitis A and hepatitis B.

Now, again, the RG isn't necessarly adamant in opposing gay marriage, nor am I for discrimination.   The catechism calls us to respect the humanity of everyone, and to show compassion for everyone.   And, as a matter of fact, gay men and women have invariably been nice to me in my life.   I know that's anecdotal, but what the hell.   I wish everyone well and I want everyone to be happy.

What I am against is imprecision in language and Orwellian refusal to confront facts.   The gay marriage movement demands that we treat gay marriage and conventional heterosexual marriage as the same thing.   But the underlying unspoken assumption is that gay sex and conventional heterosexual sex are the same thing.   Yet, at the same time, the U.S. Center for Disease Control has concluded that men having sex with men greatly increases the risks for serious diseases.   So which is it?

We are hectored daily not to smoke, because smoking might cause cancer decades hence.

We are hectored daily not to eat cheeseburgers, because we might become obese, and obesity might cause health problems decades hence.

But we are supposed to ignore and celebrate conduct (male-male anal sex) that can and does cause serious and even fatal diseases, not decades hence, but through an infection that can happen anytime.

Now I'm not for making cigarettes illegal.   And I'm not for making gay sex illegal.   I'm for individuals making their own decisions and government staying out of it.   I'm not even adamant about opposing gay marriage.  

I'm just opposed to euphemism and obfuscation.   And I'm opposed to a momentary majority discovering rights that no one knew existed and then cramming them down on the rest of America just because, at this moment in history, they can.

Oh, and, as a rule, if the French are doing X, I'm in favor of doing Y.