The Prop 8 Trial: Day Twelve

Timothy Kincaid summarizes the final day of testimony. During the cross of the defense's final witness:

[David] Blankenhorn agreed that same-sex marriage would provide a large number of benefits including more committed relationships, less promiscuity, higher living standards, reduced burden on the state, less prejudice and hate crimes, more scholarship and discussion on the value of marriage, an expansion of the American idea, and less heterosexual marital unhappiness due to gay people heterosexually marrying.

He even agreed that civil unions and domestic partnerships harmfully blur the distinctions of marriage.

But he believes that same-sex marriage will harm the institution of marriage. Boies asked him to indicate in his list of references which scholars make this claim, he included Alan Carlson from the Howard Center (an ultra-conservative think tank) and Maggie Gallagher. (It’s amazing how circular the anti-gay argument is. They all rely on each other for validation of their opinion with little to no actual research.)

Another interesting moment:

[Blankenhorn] admitted that previously to 100 years ago, 83% of societies were polygamous. But Blankenhorn doesn’t think that polygamy violates the rule of two because it is a bunch of separate one-man-one-woman marriages. (This is, I believe, a distinction without a difference. It is the fallback position for those who try and imply that marriage has always been the 1950s nuclear family in the face of incredulous historians.)

Talbot provides more background on Blankenhorn. My own experience of him is that he is a sincere, decent and unprejudiced man, deeply conflicted on this issue. The trial transcripts are here.