48 Popular Culture Review
Dr . Dobson based his dire prediction of the effects of same-sex marriage on “ evidence from the Scandinavian countries that de-facto homosexual marriage destroys the real Me Coy ” ( 47 ). There are six independent “ Scandinavian ” countries . Although they may all share some common cultural traits — such as an ontological tradition of the “ logic of liberty ” advocated by John Stuart Mill , who believed that experimenting with various ways of living would allow societies to determine which were the most advantageous to growth and stability — each has its own social and political dynamics . To make such an unqualified straight-line comparison is invalid logically and sociologically , as is the claim that “ de-facto homosexual marriage ” is the cause of declining marriage rates .
To set the record straight , Denmark , Norway , Sweden , Finland , Greenland , and Iceland allow couples to establish legal partnerships other than marriage . Although these registered arrangements give same-sex couples some of the benefits and protections of civil marriage , the couples are not legally “ married .” In that sense , “ domestic partnerships ,” “ civil unions ,” “ domestic unions ,” “ legal partnerships ” ( and any other designations that are concocted ) do indeed provide viable alternatives to marriage and thereby contribute to that institution ’ s declining numbers . It ’ s only common sense : more options , same population choosing among them . Perhaps it would be better to just use “ marriage ” for all unions instead of opening up a Pandora ’ s Box of kind-of-like and somewhat-similar arrangements available to both heterosexuals and homosexuals .
Other evidence from Scandinavian countries further contradicts Dobson ’ s argument . According to the Central Population Registry , Denmark has continued to see a statistical increase in the number of male-female couples marrying per capita during the fifteen years since “ de-facto homosexual marriage ” has existed ( www . dst . dk ). On August 1 , 1993 , Registered Domestic Partnerships became legal in Norway , giving same-sex couples the same rights as mixed-sex couples . Since then , all the dire predictions have proven baseless . Monika Persson , reporting from Eidsnes , Norway , summarized in a Grand Forks Herald article on October 7 , 2004 :
I still can remember the commotion and discussions that followed . Yet , now it seems so far away that just thinking the issue was controversial leaves me with a bitter taste of wrongfulness and ignorance . Of course , someone always will be opposed to the issue , but the subject itself is old , worn out and accepted many years ago by most Norwegians .
At first glance , one might wonder why Dr . Dobson chose the folksy “ real Me Coy ” description of “ traditional marriage ” in his opening salvo . The answer may be rhetorical . Aside from offering out-of-context scripture verses