The revisionist position of marriage is worthy of state recognition.

Thank you Larz for this debate. My debating skills are evidently more unpolished than I had initially take them to be, and your criticisms demonstrate this, but I still believe this final round will be enough to salvage most of the arguments I have made. I hope that we have both learned something through this debate, and will now procede to conclude. Traditional Marriage: The Finale It seems that my opponent and I have been dancing with a strawman for the past 3 rounds. It turns out, that whether or not recognition of marriage encourages procreation is wholly irrelevant to my argument. The purpose of traditional marriage, as I had defined it in my opening, was "acknowledging the special social value of a relationship where procreation is inherantly possible. " However, my opponents initial objection becomes reopened, that marriage is not required for procreation. But this is also irrelevant. Marriage is the means in which society recognizes the special social value that heterosexual union has from a societal point of view. Larz has also misconstrued my argument. I asked him whether or not he thought that legally bound relationships have the same value of non-legally bound relationships. If my opponent doesn't, then my point is indeed sound, that recognizing a relationship is a means to give social value to it. If he did agree, why would my opponent argue that limiting marriage to procreation is unjust? It does not matter to him at all whether or not some relationships are legally bound. My opponents next objection, that marriage doesn't enable procreation, is also irrelevant. By arguing this, my opponent understands my argument to be that marriage is directly about procreation, instead of "acknowledging the special social value of a relationship where procreation is inherantly possible. " So let me directly respond to my opponents objection: Do infertile/unwilling inherantly possess the qualities required for procreation to occur? Yes! Because the basis of procreation is the coupling of males with females. Do transvestite males and lesbians possess this quality? That is up to how specifically you are looking to define male and female. But, this is, again, irrelevant! Gay people do not possess the qualities for being in a relationship where procreation can occur, unless you define marriage as something so broadly that the makeup of the participants becomes irrelevant. But this is precisely what I am arguing against. My opponent also contends that certain laws have passed that prove marriage is about love. But nowhere in this debate have I conceded that marriage as we see it today is the traditional position. It doesn't matter to me what your countries marriage laws state. We are battling ideologies, not factual examples. Finally, Larz's last contention states that limiting marriage to unions which are capable of all aspects of procreation is unjust. But such a stance equates that two equal men, one with two arms and one with one arm, are of equal value. This is obviously not the case. Let me clarify; I am not arguing that Same-sex unions have no potential for extrinsic value, but rather because heterosexual unions possess the potential for maximum extrinsic value, they in themselves deserve special social recognition. The state could, if it wanted to, extend certain legal benefits to same-sex unions, like civil unions. But marriage is indeed about "acknowledging the special social value of a relationship where procreation is inherantly possible" and therefore demands social recognition. We could allow homosexuals to participate in marriage, but this would warrant the creation of a new institution that is exclusively for heterosexual couples, and we end up back at square one with new vocabulary. Rebuting the Case for Revision If my opponent doesn't provide a reason why marriage should be recognize, he violates the second criteria. He would have assumed that marriage exists by default, and therefore assumed that changing the purpose of marriage does not alter the value of marriage. He does eventually argue that because love is an inherant good, a counter-measure to polygamy, and settles court disputes over things like inherited estates, it deserves legal recognition. But this is all fallicious. He has assumed that love is an inherant good and brings prosperity--something I personally disagree with--, does not explain how marriage based around love is a counter-measure to polygamy, and substitutes the purpoise of settling court disputes with his own position, that love is the purpose of marriage. While there is a correlation between love and personal desire for where your assets go, this argument does not require such correlation. I could marry my Son if the sole purpose of so was to make sure my assets went to him when I died. In regards to the slippery slope, my opponents position is simply "because it is illegal, it is unrecognized. " But this is a situational argument. If it were to happen that some alternative forms of relationships were to become legalized, then we would immediately have to recognize them because they do fit the criteria of marriage. This also is a logical fallacy, because it is an appeal to authority. We are in a decisive debate where we are contrasting logical ideologies. By pulling real world facts and basing your logic off of them, you are begging the question. Furthermore, Larz has not demonstrated why in the few states where beastiality is legal it would be illegal to enter the union of marriage. His intial case based off the real world is extremely weak, and doesn't even cover a lot of real world aspects. While I'm sure some might disagree, I do not agree that this argument is valid. Finally, we get down to the very last point: Which union is to be preferred; the Revisionist or Traditional. Pro's main assertion here is that all relationships are entitled to equal recognition under the law. But this is assumed. I do not believe the value of a man with two arms to be the same with one arm, at least not extrinsicly. Larz has not demonstrated otherwise. As this final round has finally made clear, the purpose of the traditional marriage is that of which I have stated in the first round: "acknowledging the special social value of a relationship where procreation is inherantly possible. " It is because heterosexual union is the sole reason humanity has not died out is why it deserves special recognition under the law. Marriage is the supplement in which the value of the union is displayed, as I have tried to explain in former rounds and arguments. As I have stated before, Pro has not established any fundamental purpose for marriage. His main reasoning is to prevent a certain group from being emotionally harmed. But they are not being directly being harmed. By establishing a certain mindset in which they are being denied something entitled to them, they are damaging themselves emotionally. By arguing that this is enough to warrant recognition, you are legitimately saying it is unjust to deny a girl ice cream who is holding her breath till she supposedly suffocates. Homosexuals aren't going to dissapear forever because we don't allow them to marry, just like how the girl won't die. Traditional marriage, by contrast, is a means to warrant the special recognition that heterosexual unions deserve, for being the basis of all society and government. -----It has been quite the debate. Again, thank you Larz. It has been a learning experience. I hope we might be able to debate this issue again in the future. To voters, remember, my opponent has the extraordinary burden of proof here. He needed to have demonstrated why Revisionist marriage warrants government recognition, explain why the Revisionist position will retain to homosapian monogamy, and demonstrate why such a position is preferable over traditional marriage.