Uncommon bond

Family collapse opens a door for totalitarianism | Gene Edward Veith

Sara Sarasohn, discussing in The Washington Post her upcoming marriage in California to her lesbian partner, explains how the institution of marriage is, literally, coming apart. Today, she argues, couples can have sex without being married. They can have children without being married. They can live together, buy a house together, and partner together in a myriad of ways without marriage being necessary.

"I can't pretend to speak for the people who are against gay marriage," writes Sarasohn, "but I think this is part of what they mean when they say that gay marriage will unravel the whole institution. Our national conversation about gay marriage has already shown how the different elements of marriage—legal, religious, romantic, economic, civil, procreative—have become independent. . . . Now, adults have the prerogative to mix and match the various things that make a marriage in whatever way they choose. It's just that when gay people do it, it's more obvious that 'marriage' has already been deconstructed."