A Puzzling Misstep

Proponents of homosexual marriage in Washington are collecting signatures for a silly initiative that would limit marriage to couples who are physically able to procreate -- and would annul marriages that hadn't resulted in offspring after three years.

What's particularly interesting is that the initiative's proponents seem not even to really understand the basis upon which so many conservatives object to gay marriage. It isn't because they believe that "marriage exists solely for the purpose of procreation," as one gay marriage activist spokesman insisted. It's because they believe that -- if procreation takes place -- children are best served by households in which there is a mother and a father. What's more, many likewise believe that homosexual behavior is simply wrong, and that the institution of marriage, as ordained by God, is based on the complementarity of the sexes.

Certainly the initiative's advocates are free to disagree, but nothing in this maneuver is going to change any minds, so it's a puzzling and silly misstep. Do the gay marriage activists really think they are going to advance their cause with such a patently offensive, unworkable and ridiculous gimmick? The homosexual rights movement has come as far as fast as it has because it has depended, not on adversarial and confrontational tactics, but on the basic decency, compassion and sense of fair play of the American people. This tactic goes the other way, and it will only damage the cause it's designed to assist.