|
Law would require married couples to produce children
From the YJCMTSUIYT Department: OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Proponents of same-sex marriage have introduced an initiative that would put a whole new twist on traditional unions between men and women: It would require heterosexual couples to have kids within three years or else have their marriages annulled. Gadow said the argument is unfair when you're dealing with same-sex couples who are unable to have children together. Initiative 957 was filed by the Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance, which was formed last summer after the state Supreme Court upheld Washington's ban on same-sex marriage. In that 5-4 ruling, the court found that state lawmakers were justified in passing the 1998 Defense of Marriage Act, which restricts marriage to unions between a man and woman. Under I-957, marriage would be limited to men and women who are able to have children. Couples would be required to prove they can have children to get a marriage license, and if they did not have children within three years, their marriages would be subject to annulment. All other marriages would be defined as "unrecognized" and people in them would be ineligible to receive any marriage benefits. Supporters of I-957 must gather at least 224,800 valid signatures by July 6 to put it on the November ballot. The measure's backers said the two additional initiatives they plan would prohibit divorce or separation when a married couple has children, and would make having a child together the equivalent of marriage. Posted by: CrazyFool 2007-02-07 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=179774 |