Although funny ballot initiatives are nothing new, I think the proposed I-957 takes it to a new level. The State Supreme Court last year upheld the Defense of Marriage Act on the grounds that the state has a compelling interest in the procreation of children.
Thus, the logical endpoint of that line of reasoning:
Under I-957, marriage would be limited to men and women who are able to have children. Couples would be required to prove they can have children to get a marriage license. If they did not have children within three years, their marriages would be subject to annulment.
All other marriages would be defined as “unrecognized” and people in them would be ineligible to receive marriage benefits.
The initiative is a joke, of course, filed by proponents of same-sex marriage trying to prove a point:
“Absurd? Very,” the group says on its Web site, which adds it is planning two more initiatives involving marriage and procreation. “But there is a rational basis for this absurdity. By floating the initiatives, we hope to prompt discussion about the many misguided assumptions” underlying the Supreme Court’s ruling.
Sounds good to me. Anything that further proves the ridiculousness of ballot initiatives is welcome, IMO.
Damn, you beat me to it. Was just going to post something on this.
All’s I can say is, it’s nice to see SOMEONE in WA politics with a sense of humor.
I’m totally voting for this.