Gay Marriages
Gay marriage refers to marriage between people of the same sex. In the contemporary world gays’ have raised a lot of controversy and In the countries that gay marriages are legal it is always considered an aspect of political liberalism and the question at hand is whether gay relationship being given legal status protects human rights or threatens citizenship. The issue is so controversial that it has formed a lot of debate on the opinions of people on the subject. On one arm of the heated debate are liberalists who believe people should be given freedom of choosing their sexual orientation whereas on the other hand are communitarians who believe in the common good of the society and gay relationship is considered an orientation with adverse effects to the society.
The religious leaders are also up in arms against gay marriages. This paper explores the writer’s personal opinion on gay marriages and also some of the published opinions; it also explores reasons of communitarians not offering support to gay marriages and the writer’s way of determining a morally superior resolution and whether liberals meet the criteria. The paper will make some reference at the United States where the debate is most heated and some states have legalized gay marriages and other states are still debating whether to legalize or not.
Maintaining a neutral society as it has been argued by some liberal scholars would solve the controversial issue of gay marriages. Gay marriages if formalized are accused of possibly resulting to radical reforms in the basic institution of marriage and changing the cultural values that have been in existence since time in memorial and consequently, redefining the family which is the basic structure of the society. However, Homosexuality relationships have been in existence in various forms and only lacked a legal sense and it will make a lot of sense and solve a lot of hidden issues if legalized. Things like prejudice and being neglected by friends and relatives would be a thing of the past and people would learn to respect the sexual orientation of people.
Marriage has a long synopsis and has undergone through a lot of changes like; it started as a free issue without commitment, then to polygyny and polygamy and to monogamy and still it is considered very dynamic and like all other institutions marriage must change and adapt to meet the needs of the society and embrace the changes in morality. The status quo of marriage has been shifting with time. For instance; In North America in the year 2003 same sex marriage was legalized by a court in Ontario. Though the legal definition of marriage has been marriage between a man and a woman there is evidence that same sex unions are neither extraordinary nor perverted and they are quite wide spread. In ancient Egypt same sex unions were recognized as marriage. In Greece and Rome same sex union was culturally recognized. Many African societies’s also recognized lesbianism and Native Americans allowed marriage to same sex couples before the arrival of Christian relationship.
As much as opponents of gays consider homosexuality very disgusting and actually disrespect gays it is essential to note that as much as heterosexual is not a choice and so is homosexuality. According to Gays do not choose to be gays; Sexual orientation is a part of human development and people discover at various points in life that they are gay, lesbian or bi-sexual and therefore victimizing people over a rather natural occurrence is unethical. The National mental Health Association of the United States of America says “that most researchers believe that sexual orientation is complex and that biology plays an essential role in determining a person’s sexual orientation”. There is no evidence at all that homosexuality is purely an environmental triggered trait and there are some allegations that genetic factors are behind this sexual orientation. It has been demonstrated that identical twins have same sex orientation and therefore it is essential for people to understand the diversity of people’s sexuality.
In America most religious groups condemn same sex marriages; however, this is not true in all belief groups mostly the liberal groups like: Unitarian Universalist Association, United Church of Christ, American Humanist Association and American Atheist all promote sexual neutrality and sensitivity and advocate equal rights for people of all sexual orientation. The argument that gay marriages might face a great economic and social challenges as far as child rearing is concerned is baseless owing to the fact that much as homosexual marriages may be accused of not being complete for child bearing there also has been evidence of children from homosexual relationships who have thrived better than their counterparts from heterosexual relationships.
Communitarians disregard gay marriages owing to the fact that majority of the people feel that gay marriages are wrong. The Pew Research Center has consistently found out that the opponents of legalizing same sex are always more than the supporters since it started polling for same sex being legalized. Shortly after Massachusetts legalized same sex marriage in 2004 Pew research center found that twice as many American’s were opposing gay marriages. Recently, in 2009 only 35% were in support of gay marriages . In addition, gay marriages are a threat to hetero normality, currently as it stands women are more and if the gay marriages are legalized there is a possibility of a big shortage of husbands for the heterosexuals and also there are dangers of people being lured into homosexuality owing to the legal status.
Another major reason why gays are considered a threat to normalcy is because procreation is one of the major reasons why people indulge in sex. Gay relationship therefore threatens the procreation process and consequently, the demography of a country. For instance, if 35% of the population is gay with would give an implication of lower reproductive rates. It is reported that more than 56% of gay separate before their children are seventeen years of age . This consequently, affects the personality and character of children brought up in such marriages. One other end separation in heterosexuals’ relationships with children has been found to be between three and thirty percent owing to the fact that people endure for the sake of the children
Homosexuality is a challenge to the meaning of marriage and responsible parenting. This is owing to the fact that gay committed relationships are not monogamous. Research has shown that most happy gay relationship allow cheating are basically non-monogamous and this being the case then the meaning of marriage is altered completely by homosexuality. Gay relationships have also the challenge of staying stable where children are involved. These impacts on the expectations of bringing up children who should grow up in a steady home, divorce rate is higher on gay marriages relative to heterosexual relationships.
Gays are also exposed to a lot of health risks. First they are known to be promiscuous and they also engage in very risky sexual behavior and therefore they are very prone to HIV and AIDs. In the real sense they have been accused of tampering with the global fight against HIV. They are also prone to other sexually transmitted illnesses like syphilis and gonorrhea amongst others. Some sexual practices amongst the gay also make them more prone to sexually transmitted illness. They are also more prone to mental illnesses owing to the prejudice they face and heart aches experienced from their high rate of infidelity.
One of the criterions for determining a morally superior resolution is an opinion poll however, the way of the majority should s not always rule but also the concerns of the minority should be put into consideration. For instance, the 2009 poll that shows only 35% support gay marriages, 35% is a very big percentage to be ignored. The communitarians are so radical and they ignore the moral criterion of respect for personal choice. For issues raising a lot of controversy and may impact on the nation a referendum can assist however, on issues of morality like gay marriages this would be insufficient because whatever the outcome the other group would still accuse the system of moral injustice and the aim of any system is to considered socially just. The principles of equality and liberty should also be given a very high degree of attention and that is why I feel that is why communitarians is not a good system owing to the fact that it ignores this two important principles.
In conclusion, it is fair and desirable to respect people’s sexual orientation. The fact that sexual orientation is not a personal choice should be enough to make people understand that it is beyond a person’s ability to choose their sexuality and there are a lot of benefits that can accrue from letting people be. This paper had the intention of convincing the reader that being liberal can sought out the ongoing controversial debate on gay marriages. It therefore, explored the arguments in supporting gay marriages and intending to convince people that gay marriages are not as disgusting as they judge them to be.
Work Cited
Cecco, John P. De and Michael G. Shively. Origins of sexuality and homosexuality. Chicago: Routledge, 1985. Document.
Dianne, Chisholme. "GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies 7.2, 2001." Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies (2001). document.
Eskridge, William. Case for same-sex marriage. Ontario: Free Press, 1996. document.
Robinson, B.A. Religous Tolerance. 12 July 2003. http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_marint4.htm. 27 May 2012.
Sullivan, Andrew. Virtually Normal. Chicago: Alfred A. Knopf, 1995. document.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. The Pew Forum on Religion and Pubic Life. 9 July 2009. http://www.pewforum.org/Gay-Marriage-and-Homosexuality/Public-Opinion-on-Gay-Marriage-Opponents-Consistently-Outnumber-Supporters.aspx. 27 May 2012.
