Another reason disallowing gay marriage is foolish.

In "The GOP's Bad Bet," I quoted from a column by conservative writer Charles Murray, who wrote that "society is weakened every time a law is passed that large numbers of reasonable, responsible citizens think is stupid." This applies especially to so-called moral laws, such as the law that prevents gays from participating in the legal status of marriage. A significant number of reasonable, responsible citizens think that such a law is stupid. This reduces the general respect for the law among all citizens. As Murray said, "law-abidingness is reinforced when the laws are limited to core objectives that enjoy consensus support." It is harmed when laws are passed simply to satisfy the parochial inclinations of some of a country's citizens.