08 September 2007

Humor: Congress to ban same-Soundex marriage

Got a minute? Check the archives of your favorite genealogy blogs - you might be surprised.

Chris Dunham's The Genealogue always has something to laugh about, such as this one (June 2006).

Congress Considering Marriage Ban
A Genealogue Exclusive
Today in Washington, conservatives in Congress continued their push to ban same-Soundex marriage.

"It just confuses the children," explained Nebraska Democratic Senator Ben Nelson, who is running for re-election this year. "And Lord knows the children in my state are confused enough, what with the hippity-hop music and all."

Same-Soundex marriage is legal in twelve states, with seven others considering legalization. The problem arises when a couple married in one state moves to another which bans the practice.

"We had a case where a feller named 'Strader' went off to Vermont with a woman named 'Streeter' and got married," Nelson said. "Now you just know their kids are going to ask someday, 'Why were my parents born with the same Soundex code?' I think I'd be too embarrassed to explain it to them."

Opponents of the proposed ban charge that Nelson and his Republican allies are just being "homophonophobic."

"Having similar-sounding surnames doesn't mean two people can't fall in love and raise a family together," responds Patricia England-Engelman, founder of Same-Soundex Americans for Marriage Equality. "It just means that their kids might be born with webbed toes."

Senator Nelson isn't buying it.

"Marriage should be between a man and a woman with different-sounding names. I'm just following what the Bible says. The first two people were named 'Adam' and 'Eve'—not 'Adam Martin' and 'Eve Morton.'

Thanks, Chris, for keeping us laughing!
To keep up with the lighter side of genealogy, subscribe to The Genealogue.
To keep up with Jewish genealogy, subscribe to Tracing the Tribe.

2 comments:

  1. Schelly,

    I'm a member of the Chris Dunham Fan Club also... thanks for the great repost.

    Janice

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Schelly,

    I continually remind people to check your blog. And sometimes, I even copy a particular posting for others to read.

    We needed a bit of humor, and this fit nicely.

    lyn

    ReplyDelete