All (Straight) Married Couples MUST Have Children- Or Else!

An initiative in Washington State would require able-bodied married heterosexual couples to have children within three years, or else, it's subject to annulment.

Initiative 957 was filed by Washington Defense of Marriage Alliance, a group that seeks equal marital rights for same sex couples. It has been accepted by Sashington Secretary of state Sam Reid.

It needs 224,880 valid signatures to get onto the November 2007 ballot. The group wants 280,000 in case a number of the signatures are invalid. If this makes the ballot, voters will decide whetherable-bodied married couples will be required to procreate (you know, have children) or no.

Now, don't get me wrong. I defend same sex marriage, and I believe that same sex couples have the right to marry, just as opposite sex couples currently can do. But this initiative, I-957, is the wrong way of going about the matter. Requiring a heterosexual married couple to conceive a child within a frame of time is at worst draconian. To put it bluntly, it is selfish, and will further hurt the support for same sex marriage. I would much prefer that they, the same sex couples, use the 'power-of-attorney' method for benefits; hospital visitation; adoption, etc.

But please, don't force heterosexual couples to have a child they may not be ready for. After all, there is no time table on when the couple will be ready to conceive.

For more information, go to http://www.wa-doma.org/Default.aspx . For the story from KGW-TV, Portland, Oregon, just click on the title.

Copyright 2007, by Darren W. Alexander. All Rights Reserved.