Letter to the Editor

Don Burrows, Minneapolis

A response to Wallace Alcorn’s May 24 column is almost unnecessary, given how it virtually deconstructs itself. For example, he notes that incestuous marriage is not legal, “whether same-sex or other-sex.” In other words, laws against incest can be applied across the board, regardless of the sexes of the people involved, avoiding the very equal access claims inherent in the gay marriage debate.

There are still state interests that can be argued with regard to making incestuous marriage illegal, but no convincing, objective reasons have been proposed to keep two consenting adults of the same sex from marrying. Such arguments fail in the light of the social and legal institution that marriage has become in modern America — namely, a relationship based solely on mutual companionship.

But even more startling is his logic that gays and lesbians should be denied access to marriage because, “they just do not have this as a right” and, “never have had it and should never gain it.” Fancy. I suppose we could undo just about every advancement in civil rights over the past 200 years based on the same circular reasoning.