Harvard History Professor Testifies At Prop 8 Trial That Marriage Is Not Just About Procreation
Posted: 12th Jan 2010 Author: Michelle Penny Topics: Proposition 8
A US Harvard history professor, Nancy Cott, has testified at the Proposition 8 trial currently being held at the San Francisco federal court, and disputed a statement by the defense lawyer that states should restrict marriage to only heterosexual couples for the sake of procreation.
Testifying that historically procreation has not the only function of marriage, the professor and author of a book on marriage as a public institution, argued there is also an economic purpose to marriage, and as the definition of what it means has changed, the reasons to block same sex couples from marrying have disappeared to.
Conceding whilst being cross-examined that XX she wasn’t able to predict what impact same sex marriage would have on society, Cott did however think to not could as damaging saying “It seems to me that by excluding same-sex couples from the ability to marry and to engage in this institution, that society is actually denying itself another resource for stability and social growth,” she said.
Whilst the outcome of the case is uncertain, many believe that the case, currently being tried at the federal courts in San Francisco and presided over by Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, will be appealed in the Supreme Court which could lead to laws restricting marriage to a man and a woman to be either upheld or abolished across the country.
Via 365 Gay News (story) and Albany_Tim (photo).
