Marriage Insecurity

It is really to easy to make fun of the Massachusetts Family Institute’'s statements and press releases. They tend to be simultaneously reactionary and emotionally based. That doesn'’t mean that they aren'’t sincere. One of the most risible and most quoted MFI-related comments was:

"This is affecting me immediately because my children are in conflict. It's putting my children in turmoil," said Kris Mineau, leader of the conservative Massachusetts Family Institute. "I've always argued that from May 17 onward, my heterosexual marriage was no longer unique, no longer a standard for the culture, and that's an affront to me and it grieves me."

Wags were quick to ask what part of the U.S. or Massachusetts constitutions guaranteed “uniqueness” to individuals. Yet Mineau'’s remarks do illustrate that basic reactionary conundrum. They seem to have a very bad feeling that somehow same-sex marriage is doing something terrible to heterosexual marriage. Now if they could only have some intellectual basis for this...

In contrast, the many legislators and other who support same-sex marriage rights tend to be straight, married and secure. Same-sex marriage doesn'’t threaten or demean their own marriages in any way, they typically state.