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14 Ave Maria L. Rev. 140 (2016)
An Argument against Civil Marriage

handle is hein.journals/avemar14 and id is 146 raw text is: AN ARGUMENT AGAINST CIVIL MARRIAGE J. David Bleicht Permit me to begin with a report of an incident that occurred during the period of the Irish troubles as recounted to me by a colleague. Apparently, it was the practice on the part of both sides of the conflict to establish roadblocks in order to stop automobiles for inspection before allowing them to continue. The driver of each automobile was asked, Are you a Catholic or a Protestant? The wrong answer could have extremely serious adverse consequences. At one such roadblock, a driver was stopped and asked, Are you a Catholic or a Protestant? The driver answered, I am neither. I am a Jew. That response met with a follow-up question: Fine, but tell me, are you a Catholic Jew or a Protestant Jew? In Utah, other than Mormons, everyone is a Gentile. I am proud to be identified as a Jewish Gentile. As a committed Jew, I share the distress of many fellow citizens of faith in wake of the decision of the Supreme Court of the United States in Obergefell v. Hodges. The Sages of the Talmud had scant regard for the pagans of antiquity. Not only did they find their religious views and practices to be theologically odious, they regarded the lifestyle adopted by them as morally repugnant. Reportedly, the pagans were untrustworthy, and had little regard for human life. Licentiousness was rampant among them, promiscuity endemic and homosexuality very much a part of the culture of their day. Nevertheless, the Sages found them to have manifested one redeeming quality and, for that reason alone, worthy of an accolade: they did not draft marriage contracts for homosexual unions (Babylonian Talmud, Hullin 92b). To be sure, the Sages, in that statement, were damning with faint praise, but the praise was genuine. The Sages gave pagan libertines high marks for not having also established homosexual marriage as a legally recognized institution. Almost modem in their perspective, the Sages recognized that, arguably, society might grant license to consenting adults to act as they choose. What individuals do or do not do may be regarded, within reasonable parameters, as t Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Yeshiva University. This paper is intended for private circulation only. Permission to quote must be obtained from the author. 140

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