Married couples in WA required to have kids?

Olympia, WA -

Initiative 957 was filed this week by same-sex marriage advocates which would require straight couples to have children within three years or the marriage will be annulled. The initiative would also limit marriage only to couples who were able to provide proof that they are able to have children. Any marriage that falls outside of those guidelines would be "unrecognized" by the state.

“If same-sex couples should be barred from marriage because they can not have children together, it follows that all couples who cannot or will not have children together should equally be barred from marriage," said WA Defense of Marriage Alliance organizer, Gregory Gadow.

If I were to consider this seriously even for just a second, I would say that I see the proverbial "slippery slope" within. I believe that were an initiative like 957 to become state law, who's to say that other interest groups or even the state government couldn't start trying to determine which couples are fit to have children? Maybe statistics indicate that children raised under certain demographics do not succeed. Or that kids raised by parents who have a history of drug, alcohol, or other such problems are more prone to repeat the same behavior later in their adolescent/adult life.

The Defense of Marriage Alliance has filed this initiative as an obvious act legislative retaliation over the state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on same-sex marriage last summer. This group wants to see all people of any race, religious, or sexual orientation be able to get married freely without restrictions from the state. Their first step toward changing the minds of the majority who oppose them is to introduce legislation that will restrict their rights to marry. I think Gadow needs to rethink his strategy.

Tech Tags: Gay+Marriage Initiative+957 Defense+of+Marriage+Alliance Gregory+Gadow Same+sex+marriage Chaseblogger