UTAH: State Defends Marriage Ban Lawsuit With "Gays Can't Procreate" Tactic

Three same-sex couples are suing to overturn Utah's ban on same-sex marriage. In a motion filed on Friday, the state made the old tired argument that keeping the ban is in the best interest of making new babies. Because if gays can marry, straights won't keep cranking out kids. Or something.

Utah has made that decision: marriage is between a man and a woman, the state argues, and its traditional definition of marriage rationally promotes the state’s interest in "responsible procreation" and the "optimal mode of child-reading," among other things. The motion notes Utah is the most-married and most "child-centric" state in the nation. "Same-sex couples, who cannot procreate, do not promote the state’s interests in responsible procreation (regardless of whether they harm it)," the state argues. The state uses that same argument to defend its right to not recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. The state also argues Amendment 3 does not discriminate because "neither a man nor a woman may marry a person of the same sex."

A hearing on a summary judgment is scheduled for December 4th. Presuming that the court does not rule for either side, the case will proceed to trial.