Should homosexuals receive all the rights and benefits of marriage?

Yes

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by JohnJaySmith

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I have never understood why, in this age of reason and compassion, there is even a debate about gay marriage. I personally have never even seen one single debatable point from those who oppose gay marriage. The following is a list of the "stronger" arguments I've seen against gay marriage, and why even these are patently absurd and discriminatory.

1) Marriage is a religious institution, and the Bible prohibits homosexuality.

This is the most common argument and also the biggest fallacy. Marriage is NOT a religious institution. It is part of secular law. If marriage were a religious institution, it would be recognized only by the couple's church and the couple's God. If marriage were a religious institution, married couples would not be allowed to visit their spouse in a "relatives-only" hospital room, they would not be able to file joint tax returns, they would not be able to enjoy the benefits of each other's insurance... there are countless secular laws and benefits attached to marriage. And if marriage were a religious institution, there would be no "going down to the courthouse" to get married. Perhaps marriage began as a religious institution, and perhaps it has a deep religious meaning to many married couples - but as long as marriage grants special standing and privileges in the eyes of secular law, then it is not just a "religious institution".

Further more, this country was founded with the principle of "separation of church and state" - in other words, we don't force our citizens to do the bidding of your god. Keeping marriage from a group of people on the basis of your religion spits in the face of our American ideals of freedom, and the right to live by any religion (or lack thereof) that you wish.

2) Marriage is for procreation and the continuation the species.

The implication here is that gay people shouldn't get married because they can't reproduce. But then surely the infertile or those who simply choose not to have children would be banned from marriage also. Yet I have never heard of a call for a constitutional amendment to ban infertile couples from being married.

3) Gay marriage opens the door for bestiality, pedophilia, and other "abnormal" behaviors.

This one boggles my mind the most. The implication is that homosexuality is 'abnormal' so it is a 'gateway drug', if you will, to other abnormal behaviors. But the strange thing is that advocating gay marriage isn't advocating anything even remotely similar to men marrying dogs. Gay marriage is about two loving, committed, consensual adult humans bonding in a lifelong relationship. If that leads to bestiality, then logically so does straight marriage - which is about two loving, committed, consensual adult humans bonding in a lifelong relationship. If one leads to 'abnormal' behavior, then so does the other. It is downright silly to ban someone from marrying their partner because you don't approve of the partner's gender - it's the same as banning someone from marrying their partner because you don't approve of the partner's race, political affiliation, or career; again, this is something that rarely, if ever, is given credence as a legitimate reason for the legality of marriage.

4) Marriage is an ancient ceremony and should not be altered. Otherwise the sanctity of the institution will be destroyed.

Marriage has been altered before, and it has survived. Divorce is now allowed, interracial marriage is now allowed, women have rights in a marriage and in divorce... it would once have been completely inconceivable for an interracial couple to marry, and then divorce, and for the woman to receive a decent part of the settlement, but now this is entirely possible. And still loving couples are engaging in lifelong marriages, and the same will continue if gay marriage is allowed. Yes, gay couples will be involved in scandal and divorce, but so will straight couples. It is patently absurd to hold one group to higher standards than another in this way.

5) Homosexuality isn't natural.

This one is the goofiest arguments, and it is only accepted by the remarkably uninformed. Homosexual behavior has been documented in hundreds of animal species. If homosexuality is not 'natural', then it would, by definition, NEVER occur in nature. And yet it does, and on a seemingly large scale. So by very definition this argument is utter nonsense.

6) Seeing two men kiss makes me uncomfortable.

This is another prominent argument, one based entirely on emotion and prejudice rather than logic and compassion. But sadly, this gets close to the heart of the matter. Gay marriage opponents are simply not comfortable seeing a gay couple, therefore they believe the gay couples should hide their love for each other and not be allowed to marry. Personally, I'm not comfortable seeing two discriminatory anti-gay people marry and receive full marital benefits while demanding others not be allowed the same freedom, but I will not suggest they be banned from marriage.

What really saddens me is that none of these arguments are based on fact, logic, reason, or compassion. In fact, every single one is based solely on prejudice and discrimination. They all stem from an unfortunate "You're different, I don't approve of your lifestyle, so you shouldn't be allowed to enjoy it" mentality. This is no way to run a free country, and this is absolutely no way to live up to the ideal of "liberty and justice for all".

And why SHOULD gay couples be allowed to marry? Social reasons - Massachusetts is the only state to allow gay marriage, and also has one of the lowest divorce rates in the country. I was under the impression that having more lasting, stable marriages is a GOOD thing. Economic reasons - weddings are expensive; certainly, allowing a huge new segment of the population to marry isn't going to take anyone's job away. Patriotic reasons - As an American, I despise anyone who says one group of people should have basic rights while another shouldn't. It goes against EVERYTHING I was raised to believe about this great country. And the most important reason - basic human decency. As demonstrated above, the arguments against gay marriage are based entirely on bigotry and ignorance, and as a species we should be fighting to rise above those traits.

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