Proponents of
same-sex marriage in Olympia, Wash., have introduced a
ballot measure that would require heterosexual couples to
have a child within three years or have their
marriages annulled. The Washington Defense of Marriage
Alliance acknowledged on its Web site that the
initiative was ''absurd'' but hoped the idea prompts
''discussion about the many misguided assumptions''
underlying a state supreme court ruling that upheld a
ban on same-sex marriage.
The measure would require couples to prove they
can have children to get a marriage license. Couples
who do not have children within three years could have
their marriages annulled. All other marriages would be
defined as ''unrecognized,'' making those couples
ineligible for marriage benefits.
The paperwork for the measure was submitted last
month. Supporters must gather at least 224,800
signatures by July 6 to put it on the November ballot.
The group said the proposal was aimed at
''social conservatives who have long screamed that
marriage exists for the sole purpose of procreation.''
Cheryl Haskins, executive director of Allies for
Marriage and Children, said opponents of same-sex
marriage want only to preserve marriage as the union
of a man and a woman. ''Some of those unions produce
children, and some of them don't,'' she said. (Rachel
La Corte, AP)