MINNEAPOLIS — Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks gay marriage in Minnesota.
Freeman argues that the state of Minnesota should be the defendant. The lawsuit filed last month targets the Hennepin County official who issues marriage licenses.
Freeman will take his case before a judge on Aug. 11.
Three gay couples are suing to strike down Minnesota’s ban on gay marriage. They say they want and deserve the same rights as heterosexual married couples.
“Gay marriage” seems not so much about marriage as it is about rights. Historically, certain aids were granted to married couples because society saw marriage as a huge advantage to society – bringing up kids, providing for them, and so forth. Homosexual persons are challenging this value. They are saying married couples and their families provide no benefit to society beyond the rest of us. As a society, let’s decide whether married couples and their families are good for our society. If we no longer feel they are a benefit, then lets remove those aids and helps to traditional marriages and families, but let’s not say everything is a marriage and everything is a family. If traditional families are no longer valued, then let’s remove their privileges, but let’s not undo the institutions of marriage and family. Marriage is a lifelong, exclusive commitment. Is that really what activists are after? Aren’t they just after the privileges?