I am continuing my review of the arguments published on the ‘Discussing Marriage‘ website.  Another argument for supporting same-sex marriage has to do with getting on the bandwagon on this issue.  This argument is basically an appeal to popular opinion, or perhaps more accurately, anticipated future public opinion.  I would boil this argument down to something like this:

P1:  Popular opinion regarding same-sex marriage is changing rapidly
P2:  It is inevitable that in the future, the majority of Americans will favor the legalization of same-sex marriage
P3:  Future generations will think poorly of us if we drag our feet on this issue
C1:  We should legalize same-sex marriage

Again, this is an appeal to the authority of the majority rather than an argument.  Worse yet, it is an appeal to an anticipated future opinion.  This is odd given recent events regarding this issue, since in some cases the courts are considering over-turning voted on measures protecting traditional marriage laws from the states.  Should we be following public opinion or not?  This may be an interesting constitutional question, but it is not really a direct argument for or against same-sex marriage.



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