Of course we should. This is like asking, "should we approve of jelly on toast?"

When considering the morality or immorality of any action, one question is paramount: "whom does it hurt?" Where is the harm caused by the action, and is the good that comes from it sufficient to justify that harm?

Well, where's the harm in gay marriage? Anyone?

I can almost hear the crickets chirping. No one has ever articulated even one person who would actually be materially harmed by universal same-sex marriage. No one can give a single logically-defensible reason why gay marriage should be wrong.

Sure, they can point to various verses in the Bible: Leviticus 20:13 is particularly nasty, saying that gay men should be executed. Need I remind you that Deuteronomy 21:18-21 says we ought to stone rebellious children? How about Leviticus 19:27, which says that shaving sideburns is morally wrong? The Bible is not a source of morality worth listening to.

People have made all sorts of ridiculous counter-arguments:

A. "it's unnatural"; over 450 species engage in homosexual behavior! It's as natural as anything! Any besides, who cares what's natural? Eating fruit is natural, wearing eyeglasses is not.
B. "Gay people can get married, just not to each other." So apparently it's okay now to force people to marry someone they have no desire to marry in order to uphold some ancient standard of "morality." How would people who make this argument feel if I asked them to marry someone of the same sex, basing it on some Egyptian text?
C. "Gay people already have equal rights." Actually, gay people have the right to be straight, which they aren't; that's no right at all. I may as well say that so long as everyone has the right to be a Scientologist, that counts as religious freedom.

Gay marriage would grant equal rights to millions of Americans, it would advance the values of love, companionship, and monogamy, and it would make a lot of people very happy, all while harming no one at all.

Shouldn't the answer be obvious?

Learn more about this author, Patrick Julius.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Should we approve of same sex marriage??
We want to hear your view. Write now!