By Matt Underwood The thing that’s truly baffling is how easily the conservative argument about gay marriage leading to human-animal marriage seems to have been forgotten. It was a cornerstone of the opposition, a scare tactic deployed with surprising frequency. Remember the dire warnings? If we allowed same-sex couples to marry, the next thing you knew, people would be tying the knot with their pets, the slippery slope argument in full effect. But here we are, years after marriage equality became the law of the land, and… crickets. No mass weddings for humans and their furry, scaled, or feathered companions. No legislative push to recognize such unions. It simply didn’t happen. So, why isn’t this blatant lie being pointed out more often?
One major factor is that conservatives, by and large, seem to operate without shame. Admitting they were wrong, especially on such a divisive issue, would require a level of self-reflection and accountability that seems to be absent from their playbook. They can’t be shamed for lying because they simply don’t feel it. Instead, they shift the goalposts, deny the original statement ever happened, and move on to the next manufactured crisis. If pressed, they might argue that it *will* happen, that we’re just not there yet, even though decades have passed.
The truth is, they lie constantly. It’s become so commonplace that it’s almost expected. This isn’t just about one particular falsehood; it’s about a broader pattern of deception. They lie so often, about so many things, that when they stop repeating a particular lie it’s hard to remember it. The sheer volume of misinformation coming from certain corners of the political spectrum makes it challenging to isolate and debunk every single instance. The focus is always on the latest outrage, the newest fabricated controversy. By the time we’ve unpacked one lie, there are already five more vying for our attention.
Another reason might be the inherent futility of arguing with someone who isn’t arguing in good faith. The beastiality argument wasn’t about genuine concern for societal well-being, it was about fear-mongering, about using the association to insult and disparage the gay community. Pointing out the lie isn’t necessarily about changing minds. It’s about calling out the tactic. In this case, they were never actually arguing for anything specific other than their disapproval of something they didn’t approve of. The purpose was to scare and alienate rather than to engage in any kind of reasonable debate.
Many people understand that the argument was a malicious attempt to demonize a group of people and the truth doesn’t matter to those who already share that view. For those who are inclined to believe, they may have their own reasoning and they are not prone to change their minds. They’re more concerned with reinforcing their own beliefs than with critical thinking or analyzing the facts. The whole point was to sow discord and create division, and in that, they were successful, regardless of the truth.
It’s also about priorities. There are so many other lies being told, so many other issues demanding our attention, that this particular one, while egregious, has faded into the background. While the idea that gay marriage would lead to bestiality was a big topic, it’s a distraction from the other things that conservatives have lied about. The relentless flow of misinformation and the constant stream of “culture war” issues drown out the old ones. It’s like the “boy who cried wolf,” except the wolf is always there, but the cries have lost their impact through frequency.
Ultimately, this whole situation highlights a disturbing truth: the people who were spreading these lies don’t care about being proven wrong. They aren’t concerned with intellectual consistency or the impact of their words. They’re motivated by other things: power, control, and the continuation of their own political agenda. And as long as they can keep their base riled up and engaged, it doesn’t matter if the facts don’t support their claims.