The only thing stopping chaos.. procreation

This article from a lawyer is a bit too long (no surprise there). But he
does hit upon the only thing keeping marriage from becoming everything and
nothing... procreation.

The Church asks all getting married to be open to new life. Whether
that
is probable as with young fertile folks, or improbable with old folks
except for the miracle of Sarah.

Is it not amazing how one component, preserved by Catholics, inspired by
the Holy Spirit, safeguards everything.

The reproductive aspects of marriage will also cause issues. Not because marital corporations will change the way the law deals with children in divorce situations , but because allowing same-sex unions will eliminate the presumption of reproduction that underlies traditional marriage.

Big deal, respond gay marriage proponents, who will point out that nobody looks at the reproductive capabilities of male-female couples before allowing them to marry, even after child-bearing age.

Except for the Catholics :)

However, this argument ignores the fact that reproduction is only a presumption of marriage, but a very useful one, just like the presumption that minors (no matter how precocious) are incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse.

If the presumption of reproduction is no longer needed, then there is no real reason to prevent incestuous marriages. And once gays can get married in same-sex unions, why can't heterosexuals? And if my friend can marry her friend to get spousal benefits, why can't I do the same thing for my widowed mother? Or my sick, unemployed brother?

If marriage is not at least presumptively about reproduction anymore, there is no real reason to disallow any of these things. This is not an endorsement of incest, but if marriage is no longer about sex (hetero, reproductive or otherwise), intra-family marriages cease to be a problem.

Colin P.A. Jones is a U.S. lawyer and professor at Doshisha University Law School in Kyoto, Japan. A longer version of this article will appear in a future issue of the Independent Review. Contact us at insight@sfchronicle.com.