Witness In Prop 8 Trial: Gay Marriage Could Lead To Polygamy

David Blankenhorn (pictured) of the Institute for American Values, testifying in the San Francisco trial challenging California’s ban on same-sex marriage, says allowing gays to marry could be a death blow to the institution of marriage.

“My best judgment, if we move toward a widespread adoption of same-sex marriage, I believe the effect will be to significantly further and in some respects culminate the process of deinstitutionalization of marriage,” Blankenhorn said.

Blankenhorn acknowledged that heterosexuals were responsible for the decline of marriage but said allowing gays to marry would accelerate the trend and possibly lead to the legalization of polygamy.

A line of questioning from attorney David Boies, who represents the same-sex couples suing to overturn Prop 8, concerned imposing particular religious views on the general public.

Plaintiffs lawyer David Boies spent several hours trying to draw admissions from Miller to bolster the argument that Proposition 8 was a product of prejudice rooted in religion rather than sound public policy.

“You are saying the general principle that a religious majority should not be able to use law to impose their views on others is a generally accepted principle in political science?” Boies asked, citing some of Miller’s early writings that were critical of California’s initiative process.

Miller replied, “There might be exceptions, but that is a generally accepted principle.”

Boies also prodded Miller to explain why voters in a state known for being gay-friendly overwhelming supported Barack Obama for president yet denied gays the right to wed.

“I believe religiosity is a critical factor, among other things,” Miller said. “I didn’t list any other that were critical, but I haven’t done any other investigation whether those factors were critical.”

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.