ESSAY CONTEST

If you are a conservative, or if you have conservative, anti-same-sex marriage associates who might be interested in this, please read and forward as you like.

It is my belief that opponents of same-sex marriage compose and construct their arguments in very abstract and metaphysical terms. That is their right, of course, but I have trouble seeing how these arguments are capable of ever being used in a genuine dialogue with the subjects of the debate: individuals who wish to marry their partners.

Thus, an essay contest:

I have two friends. We'll call them Patricia and Rosemary. They are females. They want to marry one another so they can enjoy the same social benefits as other couples who can marry. They intend to live (and have already, for some years, lived) in monogamy.

Write a letter, worded personally, to Patricia and Rosemary, telling them why the values, social impacts, or religious principles to which you appeal when arguing against same-sex marriage are more important than their wish to marry the partner of their choice. Write as if you were speaking to them face-to-face. Tell Patricia and Rosemary why, specifically, their love for one another is not more important than the values, social impacts or religious principles that contextualize your opposition to same-sex marriage.

I will publish the essays I receive, and invite commentary from my readers. If I receive an overwhelming number of entries, I will find new webspace specifically for this contest. After a sufficient number of entries have been received, I will poll my readers to pick several winners.

So if you are opposed to same-sex marriage, let's see if you can frame your opposition in terms that could be expressed to two human beings who wish to be married.

Send entries to: stannard67@aol.com