Huckabee, Santorum, Stewart, and Me

I was surfing thedailyshow.com and happened across this video of John Stewart and Mike Huckabee discussing gay marriage:

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-december-9-2008/mike-huckabee-pt--2

And this one with Sen. Rick Santorum:
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-july-25-2005/senator-rick-santorum-pt--1

Both of them spent time on the theme that marriage, from a government standpoint, is all about the next generation. This is the reason that government supports marriage between one man and one woman. Sen. Santorum, in particular, spoke about the government supporting the most ideal situation for raising a family, which is the male-female marriage. I don't agree. This is not the reason. This is merely a by-product.

The real reason that government supports marriage at all is because marriage is part of the human condition. People couple up. It's what people do. And the government supports it because the government is made up up of people who couple up. And there is something special about making the commitment to be with one person for life. Few accomplish that, but it's what most people want.
The only reason the government fails to acknowledge some marriages is simply because society doesn't approve of these two people coupling up. They can't prevent the coupling from happening, but they can legislate against the formal legal commitment, or at least refuse to grant the same recognition they would give to other couples. This attitude may not be legal-- may not be Constitutional even, but it is traditional and inculcated into the fabric of society, and so it stands. To give any other explanation is dishonest. (But society's attitudes are changing.)

I thought about this because, while watching these videos, I was thinking about my friend Suzy. At the art show this year, she introduced me to her her new husband. She was the happiest I've seen her in a long time. And I can guarentee you they didn't get married to produce and raise the next generation. They are both in their seventies. No, they got married because that's what happy humans do.