Gays and Definition of Marriage

Some Republican candidates are claiming that, if marriage is to be re-defined to include a man marrying a man, then there would not be a reason to re-define it as also including a man and any number of women.

Some – Rick Santorum comes to mind – go so far as to compare homosexuality with pedophilia and bestiality.

All of them are completely wrong.

I, for one, have nothing against polygamy. Muslims practice it; Mormons practice it. If such an arrangement is suitable for both parties, I have nothing against it.

As for comparisons to pedophilia and bestiality: Sorry, no can do. Two adult males, or two adult females, are at the age of consent. A child is not at an age of consent; and an animal is not a rational being and likewise cannot give an informed consent. Two adults, whatever their sexual orientation, very much can.

At the root of this is the concept that is central to liberty: The concept of informed choice. A child can't give that, and neither can an animal. An adult very much can.

Republicans should spend less time policing people's private behavior and spend more time addressing real wrongs, such as Islamic extremism. A small government is not a government that tells its people how they can live. A person truly believing in liberty will give consenting adults a freedom of how they can live. And a person who does not do that has no right to claim to be in favor of a small government.