Alex Massie Alex Massie

The Gathering Storm of Same-Sex Marriage

My crack that same-sex marriage hadn’t caused the sky to fall in any of the places where it has been established prompted a socially-conservative friend to suggest this was a “lame” argument since “no historical event literally causes pure chaos”. He had a point. It was a cheap line.

Nonetheless, homosexuals are going to have to move some if they’re to inflict as much damage upon the institution of marriage as heterosexuals. And of course, in terms of wider society, it is heterosexual marriage that is vastly more important. So it does seem to me that the argument over gay marriage is in some senses a sideshow as far as any sense of societal well-being is concerned. That being the case, I still find it puzzling that the civil – not religious – recognition of homosexual unions should cause such a rumpus. What exactly is the threat to society, as opposed to religious sensibilities?

Well, according to this advertisment from the National Organization for Marriage it is severe!


Note, however, the terminology used here. “Gathering Storm” is not, I suspect, a phrase chosen at random even if it does rather confirm the American right’s embarrassing fetishisation of Winston Churchill. No wonder my socially conservative friend deplores the “charlatans” on his side of the debate just as much as he does the momentum on “the other side”. Nevertheless, it’s rather breathtaking to imply, rather crudely, that the “threat” posed by gay marriage is akin to that from Nazi Germany. (And the Nazis of course were famous for their enthusiastic approval of homosexuality…)

Not that this will trouble the Little Winstons of the unreconstructed right.

Already a subscriber? Log in

Keep reading with a free trial

Subscribe and get your first month of online and app access for free. After that it’s just £1 a week.

There’s no commitment, you can cancel any time.

Or

Unlock more articles

REGISTER

Comments

Don't miss out

Join the conversation with other Spectator readers. Subscribe to leave a comment.

Already a subscriber? Log in