Over the past decade, we have said repeatedly that redefining marriage as something other than the union of one man to one woman paves the way for legalizing polygamy and other relationships as “marriage.” Same-sex marriage proponents have been quick to dismiss those concerns. Polygamy supporters, however, have not.
Attorney General Dustin McDaniel recently approved a ballot measure to legalize marijuana in Arkansas—of course just for medical purposes.
It’s hard to believe the sponsors of this measure really imagine the people of Arkansas think the effort is about medicine. Even the name of their group, Arkansans for Responsible Medicine, is an insult to our intelligence. There’s nothing responsible about anything that creates more drug addiction, and there is nothing medical about legalizing marijuana. So if this latest effort is not about responsible medicine, what is it about?
Follow the money. If voters approve this measure, they will be allowing marijuana businessmen to open a chain of marijuana stores across Arkansas.
Marijuana is big business. You can bet that the out-of-state marijuana interests who are poised to finance the campaign to legalize marijuana are expecting to make lots of money selling our citizens this harmful drug.
There’s nothing like having control of a marijuana monopoly to make a drug dealer’s day.
Last Sunday a guest column appeared in the Washington Post advocating “term marriages” or “wedleases”—temporary marriages that would end after a predetermined number of years.
The column claims this could reduce divorce. In the column, the author points out how common divorce has become in recent years, and asks the question, “Why doesn’t society make the legal structure of marriage more congruent to our behavior” by legalizing temporary marriages? He even goes so far as to claim when a temporary “wedlease” expires, the husband and wife could renew their marriage “lease” or go on about their separate lives as simply “as vacating a rental unit.”
The idea sounds so far-fetched that you would almost think the column was satire. The truth is, however, with more couples trying “open” marriages and many states choosing to define marriage as something other than the union of one man to one woman for a lifetime, it’s worth taking time to explain why “wedleases” simply would not work. (more…)