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Making fun of equality again I see. Do you hate that word?
It has had destructive effects in society. Equality is kind of like religion in the sense that it's something that is fundamentally good but has been used as a justification for doing a lot of bad things.
No idea. I remembered reading an article of an incestuous couple in Germany and the government there banned it for genetic birth defect reasons. The article made it seem like problems would be likely.
I didn't vote in the poll on thread, because I don't know enough about the genetic downsides.
I really don't care if someone else wants to do something that I think is gross...so long as it isn't hurting someone else.
I think it can only be said that the situation is likely to be harmful to the younger person. But the same thing can be said in many different situations where we accept that it is none of our business to interfere. I mean, those women who are drawn to marry convicted murders in prison? Someone who knowingly gets involved with an alcoholic or drug addict? Marrying when you're both teenagers? There are plenty of situations that are likely to result in bad outcomes but it's not our place to forbid them. If a mother wants to marry her daughter or a father his son after the chld is a legal adult and both consent to it? I would never encourage that course of action, but I just don't see a way to ethically outlaw it.
I see what you're saying, but with regards to your examples when held against the child/parent scenario - something has to have seriously gone wrong in the child's life for them to want to marry the parent.
In other words, the fact that the parent would allow this to happen or has such callous disregard for their own child's welfare that they would orchestrate it... Means that not only should they not be allowed to marry, but there should be some serious investigation into whether the parent is guilty of neglect and/or abuse.
Incest is not about love, or sex. It's like rape, about power and control. It's a criminal act, not a case of someone falling for a less than desirable mate as a grown adult.
Studies also provide direct evidence that traditional marriage relationships are better for the rearing of children than either single-parents or cohabiting adults, including same-sex couples.8Dr. A. Dean Byrd states that “Mothers and fathers contribute in gender-specific and in gender-complementary ways to the healthy development of children.9 In support of this, Dr. Byrd referred to the following summary of Child Trends research:
Research clearly demonstrates that family structure matters for children, and the family structure that helps children the most is a family headed by two biological parents in a low-conflict marriage…. There is thus value for children in promoting strong, stable marriages between biological parents.10
Dr. Byrd states that “extensive research spanning decades yields an overwhelming abundance of data supporting the importance of both mothers and fathers to the healthy development of children.”11 In 1982 Baumrind concluded that children of dual-gender parents are more competent, function better, and have fewer problems than other children.12 In 1991 Baumrind found that the combined parenting from a mother and a father in the home provided complementary benefits to the children.13 In 1984 Greenberger confirmed and bolstered Baumrind’s 1982 study; Greenberger’s study found that the optimal development of children requires gender-specific and gender-complementary contributions that a mother or a father cannot do alone.14 The difference between mothers’ and fathers’ parenting styles have been confirmed by studies, including studies by Rossi (1987)15and Shapiro (1994)16. A study by Clarke-Stewart (1980) concluded that fathers’ play and mothers’ play with their children are different, and that each offers distinct benefits to the children.17 Studies by Rohner and Veneziano (2001)18 and by Diener (2002)19 documented the unique contribution that fathers make in the development of a child. The absence of a father in the home has been linked to teenage pregnancy, child abuse, domestic violence and the need for psychiatric care. 20 The discipline styles of fathers and mothers also tend to be different, and it is beneficial to children to be exposed to both styles.21 A study by Golombok, Tasker & Murray (1997) found that the deficits experienced by children in “father absent families” is no different than the deficits experienced by children raised in lesbian families.22 The adverse affects of the absence of a mother in raising children has also been documented. The 1998 study by Eisold confirmed this.23Research confirms that mothers and fathers are not interchangeable; each provides separate and distinct advantages for the raising of children.24
If these are biased or in error in any way, I welcome anybody demonstrating that. As I said - I am philosophically opposed to promoting traditional families and discouraging other arrangements. I want gay marriage to be legal. I want single mothers or single fathers to be just as capable of bringing up children as traditional families and believe people should be free to marry and divorce who, when, and where they want. I believe all that is part of a free and equal society. I don't want these stats to be true. This is not a case of me cherry picking stats to back up a prejudice. It's the exact opposite. I don't like the results of the research. But it appears to be pretty valid - reputable, consistent, and repeated results from multiple studies on multiple aspects of childrens' health, emotional stability, and development all point in the same direction. A biological mother married to a biological father is demonstrably more likely to be better than any other arrangement.
your definition of close family and mine differ. first and second cousins are close family in my book
Same in mine. And they cannot legally marry.
Same with Father / Daughter, Mother / Son, Brother / Sister etc.
None of the above (and many more) CANNOT legally marry.
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