Marriage Proposal
The local media here in the Boston area has been carrying coverage of the gay marriage debate North of the Border in the Granite State. A proposal permitting same-sex partners to tie the knot passed the New Hampshire House of Representatives last week and is now in front of the Senate.
Passage is by no means certain. The opponents of the bill are well organized and vocal. The Cornerstone Policy Research group is typical. They've ginned up a web video explaining their opposition on the grounds that "Marriage is between a man and a woman".
This is the fallacy of Begging the Question. It consists of an argument in which the premises assume the conclusion. The notion that a marriage can only involve a heterosexual couple is the question to be debated. An argument that uses that as a premise is no argument at all.
The video ends with a graphic that reads "One Man + One Woman". The animated, oversized plus sign resembles a crucifix, which leads me to suspect that Cornerstone's policy research is not exactly based on reason. The Logic Critic gives it…
1 Blade - Not even an argument.
posted by Li Kim Grebnesi at
7:55 PM
2 Comments:
Can any arguments about this issue - for or against - be based on reason?
(OK, is there an argument which permits heterosexual and homosexual marriages but prohibits polygamy and polyandry?)
Anonymous:
I can't pretend to have all the answers, but I can suggest a rational way to approach the question. Suppose for the sake of argument that polygamy and polyandry were permitted. Ask yourself, "What is wrong with that?". Either you have an answer to that question or you don't. If you have an answer, congratulations, you have an argument based on reason why they should be prohibited. If you don't, perhaps they should be permitted. Either way, the Logic Critic gives you five blades.
Li Kim
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