n Please tell me that Thursday’s letter to the editor “Couples Marry to Procreate” (pg. 11) was a joke. Matthew Sullivan is obviously opposed to positive social change and learning from the mistakes of history.
Yes, homosexuality was once considered a mental disorder. Therefore, homosexuals should not be allowed to enter the bond of marriage. What? By that logic, people who suffer from depression, alcoholism and panic disorders should not be allowed to marry. That statement discriminates not only against gays and lesbians but also against people who suffer from mental disorders. That claim also assumes that what was once (wrongly) believed should dictate what happens for all time. At one time in our history, women were considered inferior and denied the right to vote. Was “something wrong with society” when women were granted suffrage? Sometimes there already is something wrong with society, and changes in law must be made to ensure equality among citizens.
Marriage does date back to before Massachusetts was founded – long before. Personally, I thank God that it has been altered since then.
The argument that marriage is traditionally heterosexual is the weakest one. Slavery was a tradition until the middle of the 19th century. At one point, 40 states in the United States forbade the marriage of a white person to a person of color. Women were once considered the property of their husbands. Rape within marriage was legal in most states until 1970. These are some of the aspects of “traditional marriage.” If tradition has taught us anything, it is that change is preferable to the status quo. There is no reason to uphold tradition if it is wrong.
Finally, if the primary reason for marrying is procreation, then all marriages within which procreation would be impossible should be outlawed. Women past childbearing age would not be allowed to marry, nor would impotent men.
Homosexuals would be doing the world a favor by not bringing more hungry mouths into it. I do hope that when Mr. Sullivan marries to fulfill his duty to procreate, his child is not born gay. A child living under such hostile conditions would be much worse off than a child raised by loving gay parents.
Sarah Crane
COM ’04
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