Same-Sex Marriage--Marriage in Crisis

Given what is stated in the previous posts on this subject, is it any wonder, then, that many consider traditional marriage and families to be in crisis (see HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE), and that marital and birth rates are in decline. (see HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE)--including same-sex marriage rates where it is legal (see HERE and HERE). A report recently indicated that for the first time in U.S. history, more adults are single than married. (See HERE)

[Update 7/3/2016 U.S. Marriage Rate Hits New Low, May Continue to Decline, Marriage in Crisis, The Role of Culture in the Decline in Marriage Rates, 144 Years of Marriage and Divorce in the U.S.]

Granted, marital and birth rates were, in some instances, in decline prior to legalization of same-sex marriage, though the decline has been exacerbated in those instances (see previous links and HERE), and may in some ways have been as much a symptom or byproduct of other threats as it was, or is, a threat, itself.

And, while divorce among heterosexuals has somewhat diminished (it went from 4.0 per 1,000 in 2000, to 3.6 in 2010--see HERE), "A 2004 study of registered partnerships in Sweden reported that gay male couples were 50 percent more likely to divorce than were heterosexual couples. Lesbian couples were nearly three times more likely to divorce than were heterosexual couples." (See HERE) "The pattern is evident in the Netherlands as well as Norway and Sweden, where Mundy notes that the risk of breakups for female partnerships more than doubles that found in male unions. The actual study she cites estimates that in Sweden 30 percent of female marriages are likely to end in divorce within six years of formation, compared with 20 percent for male marriages and 13 percent for heterosexual ones." (HERE)

Furthermore, same-sex marriage isn't the only threat to traditional marriage. Economics and other popular cultural issues like the sexual revolution, the "hook-up" generation, radical feminism, narcissism, no-fault divorce, etc. are in some respect greater threats. (See HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE) And, there are not a few heterosexuals who have been against marriage. (See HERE and HERE and HERE)

Nevertheless, as indicated, same-sex marriage is corrosive to traditional marriage--not so much on an individual basis, but cumulatively at the cultural level (see HERE). It is one of many straws pilled onto the cultural camel's back in relation to traditional marriage.

If you thought correctly that traditional marriage was crumbling under its own heterosexual problems (like with the disturbing levels of cheating and divorce and domestic violence and the growing trend towards "open marriages" among heterosexuals--see HERE), imagine how much more the institution of marriage in general will suffer now that a demographic (homosexuals) is being added to the mix, who have a significantly greater penchant for infidelity, short-term relationships, domestic violence, sexual openness, divorce, and mental illness than heterosexual (see HERE), and who have altered the meaning of words like "marriage" and "fidelity" and monogamy" to accommodate sexual infidelity. (See previous posts).

In other words, good and decent liberals have naively supposed that their support for same-sex marriage would ultimately strengthen the fundamental structure of society, but in reality they have unwittingly assented to the destruction of the traditional family--and for the life of them, they can't see it.

For example, a writer for the Atlantic Magazine said: "But what if the critics are correct, just not in the way they suppose? What if same-sex marriage does change marriage, but primarily for the better?...But the larger change might be this: by providing a new model of how two people can live together equitably, same-sex marriage could help haul matrimony more fully into the 21st century. Although marriage is in many ways fairer and more pleasurable for both men and women than it once was, it hasn’t entirely thrown off old notions and habits...Same-sex spouses, who cannot divide their labor based on preexisting gender norms, must approach marriage differently than their heterosexual peers. From sex to fighting, from child-rearing to chores, they must hammer out every last detail of domestic life without falling back on assumptions about who will do what. In this regard, they provide an example that can be enlightening to all couples. Critics warn of an institution rendered 'genderless.' But if a genderless marriage is a marriage in which the wife is not automatically expected to be responsible for school forms and child care and dinner preparation and birthday parties and midnight feedings and holiday shopping, I think it’s fair to say that many heterosexual women would cry 'Bring it on!'” (See HERE)

Be that as it may, the decline and potential collapse of traditional marriage and family through same-sex marriage and other cultural trends, isn't entirely accidental, but was set as a goal well in advance by homosexual advocates and others, and strategically planned and executed since then. For example, various gay manifestos and agendas have called for the elimination or radical altering of the traditional family (see HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE), lesbian feminist and others have "regarded the institution as oppressive" and in need of change or elimination (see HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE), and certain prominent figures in the gay movement have admitted to being against "marriage"--gay or otherwise (see HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE)--which may account for why so few homosexuals choose to legally marry where permitted (see above), though some homosexuals support the idea of civil unions rather than marriage (see HERE and HERE). And, there are those homosexuals who see marriage as conflicting with sexual liberties (see HERE), or who regret the focus on gay marriage (see HERE and HERE and HERE), and who even intimate that same-sex marriage was designed to destroy or radically alter traditional marriage (see HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE), if not also to legitimize homosexual behaviors (see HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE and HERE).

"Homosexual activist Michelangelo Signorile, who writes periodically for The New York Times, summarizes the agenda in OUT magazine: ' ...to fight for same-sex marriage and its benefits and then, once granted, redefine the institution of marriage completely, to demand the right to marry not as a way of adhering to society's moral codes, but rather to debunk a myth and radically alter an archaic institution...The most subversive action lesbian and gay men can undertake--and one that would perhaps benefit all of society--is to transform the notion of family entirely."  "Its the final tool with which to dismantle all sodomy statues, get education about homosexuality and AIDS into the public schools and in short to usher in a sea change in how society views and treats us.'" (Quoted HERE)

Lesbian journalist, Marsha Gesson, admits: “It’s a no-brainer that (homosexual activists) should have the right to marry, but I also think equally that it’s a no-brainer that the institution of marriage should not exist. … [F]ighting for gay marriage generally involves lying about what we are going to do with marriage when we get there — because we lie that the institution of marriage is not going to change, and that is a lie....The institution of marriage is going to change, and it should change. And again, I don’t think it should exist. And I don’t like taking part in creating fictions about my life. That’s sort of not what I had in mind when I came out thirty years ago." (Quoted HERE)

Mary Rice Hasson notes: "The truth is that the gay experience, dressed in the language of heterosexual normalcy, bears little resemblance to traditional marriage relationships. For some researchers, that’s exactly the point. They believe that gay relationships herald a long-overdue deconstruction of the meaning of 'marriage,' for gays and straights alike, away from the notion of sexual exclusivity and towards emotional bonding and 'open; sexual coupling, or tripling, or whatever..."(See HERE, see also below).

Not surprisingly, the rancor on both sides of the same-sex marriage debate has soured people on marriage altogether. (see HERE)

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For an explanation as to why these same-sex marriage Leftist LUNCs have happened, see: The politics of Victimization, Compassion, Equality, Emotions, Bullying, Propaganda and Disinformation. [the unlinked topics will be posted later as they are completed]