As of May 2014, 19 states (CA, CT, DE, HI, IA, IL, MA, MD, ME, MN, NH, NJ, NM, NY, OR, PA, RI, VT, and WA) and the District of Columbia have legalized gay marriage. In only one state, North Dakota, has a ban on same sex marriage not been overturned, however the state’s ban has been challenged and a decision is expected soon (Governing the States and Localities).
One argument against same sex marriage is related to the definition of marriage. Some believe that marriage can only be defined as a union between a man and a women. Yet there are many societies, both historically and current societies that don’t define marriage in this way. A variety of definitions of marriage have meaning in different cultures including marriage between one man and more than one woman, one woman and more than one woman, multiple men and multiple women and same sex arrangement. This means that there is not a universal definition of marriage and it is defined based on what makes sense and what is meaningful for the members of the society.
A related argument is that marriage is for the purpose of procreation and since it is impossible for two men or two women to procreate they should not be allowed to get married. However, this argument also isn’t logical. Not every heterosexual couple who gets married intend to have children and some are unable to have children. In order to be consistent this would mean that those who did not want children or could not have children would be forbidden to get married. Additionally, second marriages between older individuals who have either already completed their families or were no longer able to have children would also not be able to get married. This also rules out the possibility of creating a family through adoption which would also affect many heterosexual couples in addition to gay couples.
Finally, some argue that same sex couples cannot adequately raise children since they are missing either a male or female role model. First there is no evidence that children of same sex couples are any different in terms of adjustment than children of heterosexual couples. In addition, this would also suggest that couples who split up and only one parent raises the children are equally limited as are widows or widowers raising children and all other single parent households. Most importantly, whether someone can provide nurturance and care adequately for a child is a separate issue from whether or not they should be allowed to get married.
Sources Cited
Governing the States and Localities. Same Sex Marriage Map, State Laws List. Governing Data.
2014. Web. 25 May 2014.
Linville, Deanna, and O’Neil, Maya. American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy.
Same-sex Parents and Their Children, AAMFT Therapy Topics. Web. 25 May 2014.
