Jeremy Irons: Same-sex marriage could lead to fathers marrying their sons for tax purposes

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Oscar-winning actor Jeremy Irons says equal marriage could lead to fathers marrying their sons.

Although the 64-year-old stressed he “doesn’t have a strong feeling either way” on the issue of marriage equality, the actor suggested to Huff Post Live that equal marriage legislation could be manipulated to allow fathers to pass on their estates to their sons without being taxed.

“Could a father not marry his son?” Irons asked host Josh Zepps.

When reminded about laws preventing incest, Irons replied: “It’s not incest between men”, because “incest is there to protect us from inbreeding, but men don’t breed.”

Irons, currently starring in the television drama The Borgias, added that he wishes “everybody whose living with one other person the best of luck in the world because it’s fantastic.

“Living with another animal, whether it be a husband or a dog, is great.

“It’s lovely to have someone to love. I don’t think sex matters at all. What it’s called doesn’t matter at all.”

Irons, who married his second wife Irish actress Sinead Cusack in 1978, also suggested civil unions were the same as same-sex marriages.

“It seems to me that now they’re fighting for the name. I worry that it means somehow we debase, or we change, what marriage is. I just worry about that.”

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