GAY MARRIAGE “BAN.” Gay activists (and much of the legacy media) argue that restricting marriage licenses to heterosexual couples is a “ban on gay marriage.” But ...

Calling the law a "ban" says its only purpose is to discriminate against homosexuals. By this reasoning, any law or policy that defines something is a "ban."

But a license to practice law or medicine is not a "ban" on those without law or medical degrees. It is recognition of the holder's qualifications. A state's requirements for a driver's license are not a "ban" on the underaged or the untrained.

Marriage as the union of a man and a woman predates all other human institutions. It was not created to annoy homosexuals. Marriage laws exclude all but one man and one unrelated woman. Yet I have not seen any media report the demise of the "incest ban," or the "polygamy ban" or the "bestiality ban." Just because homosexual activists have led the assault is not an excuse to pretend that marriage has only the purpose of excluding them.

The analogy is imperfect, obviously, but an interesting contrarian perspective nonetheless.