Your Opinion: What does "defending marriage' mean?

Dear Editor:

The issue of defending marriage has come up again in the media and in letters to the editor.

The following steps I would expect of people who really believe in protecting traditional marriage: a petition drive to put on the ballot a constitutional amendment that would ban divorce; an employer protection act that would allow employers to fire employees who openly admit that they are divorced or unwed parents; adultery laws would be updated to meet with definition in Matthew 19:8, which would make it a felony to remarry after a divorce (unless the divorce was due to adultery); all single mothers, unless widowed, would be taken off all government aid immediately and social workers would start rounding up and putting their children into foster care, with heterosexual couples, until the mothers were married in a "traditional" marriage.

Authorities would be watching the baby announcements in the newspapers and investigating anywhere the father and mother had different last names and laws requiring hospitals to report the birth of babies to women who aren't married.

Authorities would then give the unwed parents a choice, marriage or put the child up for adoption, and if the father refuses to marry the mother of his child he would be severely fined and or incarcerated.

Since traditional marriage is about procreation, requirements would be made that couples would have to pass a fertility test or sign an adoption pledge before being issued a marriage license and licenses would be denied to anyone over child bearing age.

Those are the actions I would expect from someone who was serious about protecting traditional marriage. I don't see this happening and honestly would anyone really want to live in a country that would do this? Same sex couples only want marriage to be changed from a governmental privilege to an individual's right and all the benefits given to heterosexual married couples be afforded to them as well.

So the choice we have before us is, do we want what is "expected" or do we say "okay let's give them the same benefits."