Quick Note: Virginia Court Takes Another Step in the Same-Sex Marriage Samba

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit heard the case brought against Virginia's 2006 voter-mandated ban of same-sex marriage this week--the case originally decided for the proponents by U.S. District Judge Arenda Wright Allen in February.  One judge acknowledged that their decision would be only a steppingstone on the way to a Supreme Court hearing.

The three judges on the randomly selected panel seemed divided. 

Judge Roger Gregory compared the ban on same-sex marriage to Virginia's interracial marriage ban that was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1967.  "The essence of marriage is the individual's choice to marry the person they choose."

Judge Paul Niemeyer indicated that he believes same-sex relationships are a "brand new" marriage category that states may choose to welcome or to prohibit.

Judge Henry Floyd asked the lawyers defending Virginia's same-sex marriage ban why the state should refuse to recognize marriages performed legally in other more welcoming states.

Two organizations are involved in defending Virginia's ban: The Alliance Defending Freedom and the American Civil Liberties Union.  

Why is is that organizations dedicated to denying freedom to some segment of our society always seems to have "freedom" or "liberty" in their name?  Can they not see the irony?

David Austin Nimocks, a lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom argued that the state's ban was needed to protect Virginia's children.  If same-sex couples were permitted to marry, he said "it is likely that, over time, fewer man-woman couples having or raising children will marry, that marriages will become less durable, and that fewer children will be raised in stable homes headed by their mother and father."

These are two of those anti-same-sex marriage arguments that make absolutely no sense.  If you're a heterosexual couple and you want to marry, how would allowing a gay couple the same right obstruct your choice?  Do opponents of same-sex marriage believe that heterosexual couples will just refuse to marry out of spite?

And the "marriages will become less durable" argument makes even less sense.  Are we supposed to believe that married heterosexual couples will look at married same-sex couples and think "Gee, I wish I were gay.  Let's get divorced so we can give that life-style a try?"

I'm all for intelligent debate on any issue; but there is nothing intelligent on the anti-same-sex marriage side here.