Last year, the Washington State Supreme Court handed down its wrongheaded
decision on same-sex marriage.
In a delightful piece of political theater,
WA-DOMA has just filed ballot initiative I-957:
If passed by Washington voters, the Defense of Marriage Initiative
would:
-
add the phrase, “who are capable of having children with one
another” to the legal definition of marriage;
-
require that couples married in Washington file proof of
procreation within three years of the date of marriage or
have their marriage automatically annulled;
-
require that couples married out of state file proof of
procreation within three years of the date of marriage or
have their marriage classed as “unrecognized;”
-
establish a process for filing proof of procreation; and
-
make it a criminal act for people in an
unrecognized marriage to receive marriage
benefits.
The intent is to challenge the court's ruling which declares that
a “legitimate state interest” allows the court to limit marriage
to those couples able to have and raise children together,
and hence it is permissible to bar same-sex marriage.
The initiative attacks the specious rationale for the court's ruling.
It also attacks the framing that so many of the bigots use.
Three initiatives are planned:
-
Make procreation a requirement for legal marriage.
-
Prohibit divorce or legal separation when there are children.
-
Make the act of having a child together the equivalent of
a legal ceremony.
As the sponsor of I-957 freely admits in his rationale,
these are all absurd, and if passed, would be struck down by the
Washington Supreme Court. He intends to undermine the reasoning
of social conservatives who have long claimed that procreation
is the sole purpose of marriage.
I'll sign the petition as soon as I get my hands on one,
even though my own marriage would be annulled by the terms
of the initiative.