"Marriage in this state has never been limited in any other way that suggests that its major or primary purpose is in fact procreation, " the city's lawyers said . " On the contrary, a 90-year-old heterosexual may legally marry, a heterosexual stricken with a fatal illness and on his or her deathbed may legally marry, a heterosexual person who is imprisoned for life without parole may legally marry ."
22.
If marriage is extended to same-sex couples, he wrote, " it is conceivable that a meaningful percentage of heterosexual persons would cease to value the civil institution as highly as they previously had . . . leading to an increased percentage of out-of-wedlock children, single-parent families, . . . or other unforeseen consequences . " He stated that Nevada has not decreased same-sex couples'rights ( having no right to marry to begin with ) and that their exclusion from marriage but not from a separate-but-parallel institution can only be seen as " benevolence ".
23.
Jones stated that, " a meaningful percentage of heterosexual persons would cease to value the civil institution as highly as they previously had and hence enter into it less frequently . " He also wrote that adoption is " not an alternative means of creating children, but rather a social backstop for when traditional biological families fail . " In October 2014, a unanimous panel of the Ninth Circuit reversed Jones's ruling and directed him to promptly enjoin the state of Nevada from " preventing otherwise qualified same-sex couples from marrying . " However, instead of issuing the order, Jones issued an order recusing himself the next day.
