5/29    "Marriage is thus something more than a civil contract subject to
        regulation by the state; it is a fundamental right of free men."
        Perez v. Sharp, 32 Cal.2d 711
        \_ I'd hate to raise my kids in an environment where he's
           brainwashed to believe that a marriage between a human and
           a monkey is OK.
           \_ is a monkey a free man?
        \_ It is indeed. Now tell me where the government needs to be involved
           other than protecting the right to marry.
           \_ that's a big "other than."  -tom
        \_ Marriage is a social construct arising from biological imperative.
           There is a reason *every* culture on the planet has the man/woman
           marriage concept enshrined in various rites and rituals.  We our
           are genes.
           \_ How to deconstruct this nonsense? Sentence by sentence:
              1) Marriage as a social construct arose as a means of
                 solidifying alliances between families. It had nothing to do
                 with procreation or biology; non-propertied people throughout
                 the world have not, historically, had formal marriages,
                 despite having numerous children. Cf. "romantic love" and
                 the troubadours of Medieval France.
                 \_ Non-propertied people didn't marry, historically, through-
                    out the world?  How about backing that up with something
                    more than a single minor reference from a single time in a
                    single place?
                    \_ Add pre-Meiji Japan to this list.
                 \_ I've gotta agree with that for the majority of human
                    history, marriage was a convenient mechanism to consolidate
                    political and economic power.  This whole American/
                    Euro mode of marrying only someone you fall in love with
                    is rather new.  I know an American born Indian male
                    with several graduate degrees from Georgetown who
                    had his mom find him a wife through a marriage broker
                    in the homeland.  He seems happy.
              2) Not "every" culture on the planet has the marriage concept,
                 let alone enshrines man/woman as better than any other
                 coupling (or grouping).
                 \_ I knew some pedantic twit would comment on that.  Name
                    the cultures that don't have the concept of marriage.
                    \_ The Na of Yunnan Province in China. Countdown to you
                       now retorting with "one culture? are you kidding me?"
                       or something similar now begins.
              3) We are our genes _plus_ our environments _plus_ whatever
                 tools we build to overcome our genes. Any human being who is
                 merely an expression of genes is missing out on the best part
                 of being human: using that huge brain to adapt.
                 \_ Nothing to do with anything on this topic.  I was hoping
                    someone intelligent might reply but that's asking too
                    much on a Friday.  You've deconstructed nothing.  Go have
                    another bong hit.
                    \_ Your brain has been characterized as small, and you
                       have been deemed unfit for reproduction. Please report
                       to recycling plant. Goodbye.
            \_ Are you including polyagamy in that grouping? Because
               polygamy was exceedingly common in ancient times...
               \_ This is why RADICAL ISLAM MAN will win.  RADICAL ISLAM MAN
                  has several wifes, and each of those wives has 4+ children.
                  Good Christian male just can't compete with those kinds
                  of numbers.
                  \_ Luckily, we have the FLDS on our side.