JumpinJesus

My first reaction to this is: because they're brother and sister! That's why! beyond that, though, there really isn't a reason why not. I'm sure there are probably some very deep psychological issues involved in a case like this, but it still begs the question: why not?

Let's think about it: aside from the possible genetic effects of siblings reproducing, what's the issue? Who is harmed in this? Women over the age of 35 risk having children with defects, but we do not legally disallow this, so the genetic argument does not stand up to scrutiny. One could logically argue that the emotional harm to the family would be a reason, but if a brother and sister are even considering marriage, hasn't the emotional damage already been done for some time? If we were so concerned about emotional damage, we'd take a much more proactive role to prevent emotional abuse. So this argument does not stand up to scrutiny. Another argument could be that the law disallows it. Okay, but why? On what grounds? What justification is there for disallowing marriage between 2 people who want to marry? Another argument can be the slippery slope argument - that by allowing this, then we'll be forced to allow adults to marry children or that we'll be forced to allow adults to marry microwave ovens. No we won't. There is nothing wrong with stating that 2 human adults may enjoy the institution of matrimony regardless of race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, or voltage. Slippery slope arguments rarely stand up to scrutiny.

The fact of the matter is that segments of the population only wish to witness that with which they themselves are comfortable. I truly believe that this arises from one's own insecurities. A heterosexual man who enjoys lesbian pornography is violently repulsed by gay pornography. It's not the act of homosexuality with which they have a problem, it's the raging fear that they themselves may get aroused by the sight of two men engaged in romantic or sexual activity. The reasons behind this are meant for another thread so I won't go into them here, but I think it's quite plain to anyone who gives it serious thought.

Therefore, in order to avoid any discomfort or unpleasantness, it's easier to just hide or stigmatize that which makes us uncomfortable, even though aside from the icky feeling we get, it does us absolutely no harm whatsoever.

Why can't a brother and sister get married? I highly doubt that more than a miniscule percentage of the population would ever consider this for themselves, but allowing that there is nothing wrong with this forces us to re-examine what there is wrong with homosexual marriage or adoption. Some people are just not ready to undergo that kind of self-examination.

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"I can normally tell how intelligent a man is by how stupid he thinks I am" - Cormac McCarthy, All The Pretty Horses