The fear people have for same sex marriage is not of the marriage itself. It's not because gays would have the same rights that heterosexuals would have. It's the fact that for homosexuals to have equal rights others would have to lose their rights. That is a pretty bold statement, but does it have any credibility? Let's explore this highly emotional debate a little bit.
Up until now, homosexuals have been winning and losing small battles for same sex marriage in separate states. But if a state says that they approve and recognize same sex marriage, are homosexuals really happy with what they have won? If proposition 8 in California would have gone the other way and same sex marriage had still been allowed to continue, is that a true victory for gays? I don't think so. I mean really, if governor Schwarzenegger pats you on the back and says that he believes you are married, does that mean jack when the rest of the country doesn't? Heterosexuals can be married in California and it will still be recognized in Texas. The federal government recognizes marriage between a man and a woman but not same sex marriage, and isn't that what gay people really want? That their marriages can be recognized from state to state with no one saying different? I believe that is exactly what they want, who wouldn't?
This debate does not end at same sex marriage. It is actually two parts, same sex marriage and gay rights. Homosexuals have been saying that they are discriminated against. But can you really discriminate someone because of his or her sexual preference. Once again this is something that gay's want the federal government to resolve. And that is what would almost certainly take rights away from others.
If you were to ask most people how they feel about gay people, you would probably get a lot of responses like, what two adults do in their bedroom is their own business. Sounds reasonable to me. Live and let live, right. If you were to ask if gays should be allowed to marry, you would probably hear about the same answer. Now if you were to ask if gays should have the same rights as everyone else free from discrimination, that's where you will see people stand in a very different direction. The reason for that is if the federal government recognized same sex marriage and made discrimination of gays illegal, then that would infringe on the rights of religions to not accept gays or refuse to marry gays. Does that sound right? Or does it sound like I am messed up?
To answer these questions a little better, let's just take a look at polygamy. Why is polygamy illegal? If we are saying that what two adult people do in their own bedroom is none of our business, than how is it our business how many adults are in that bedroom? Polygamy is illegal because the federal government says it is. So therefore, it is legal to discriminate against them. They can't have their plural marriages recognized and they can go to jail for practicing their religious beliefs. If the federal government defends the rights of gays, then wouldn't it be illegal to go against the federal government and ban gays from your church? Wouldn't it be illegal to discriminate against gays in any way?
If homosexuals receive the same rights in marriage as heterosexuals do, then aren't we opening that door of losing our own religious rights? It's funny, in all of this debate on who should have rights and who shouldn't, I bet if you asked a gay person if they thought that a religion should be forced to allow gays in their religion, they would probably say NO. Nobody wants to discriminate against anyone else but it is something that we have to do. If we did allow same sex marriage to receive all the same rights and benefits as marriage between a man and a woman, than do we allow the same for polygamy? And if we do the same for polygamy than do we allow the same for transgender relationships? Or for interspecies relationships? The fact is that we have to draw the line somewhere. And no matter where the line is, we are going to make someone feel that his or her rights are being discriminated against.