Gay Marriage: A Privledge Or A Right

An essay I wrote for school.

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They are preserving the sanctity of marriage, so that two gay men who've been together for twenty-five years can't get married, but a guy can still get drunk in Vegas and marry a prostitute at the Elvis chapel! The sanctity of marriage is saved!”

 Lea DeLaria

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are a few reasons why homosexual marriage hasn’t and possibly won’t ever be passed, the major one being that homosexuality is against many religions. Since many religions are based on the Holy Bible, and homosexuality is condemned by it, many people are not at all willing to allow same-sex marriage. Another point to keep in mind is that ‘in the beginning’ it was ‘Adam and Eve’ who were created, a man and a woman. A huge reason why the view on marriage in America is ‘one man, one woman.’ Some believe that the institution of marriage would be destroyed by same-sex marriage being made legal, that ‘gay marriage would be a mockery of true marriage.’ Many people have even gone as far as to say that they believe that homosexuals marrying would weaken family values in connection with marriage and the children of America. It is also believed that allowing gay marriage would create problems with the legality of marriages such as people wanting multiple wives, to marry an object, or wanting age not to matter when picking their husband or bride.

On the other hand there are many more reasons to legalize gay marriage. Denying the homosexual population of the United States is a violation of religious freedom. Religions all over the world put a lot of emphasis on marriage, but the government just sees it as a contract between the two people. Religion is not limited to the straight community. Plenty of homosexuals are Christians, Catholics, and even Jews. It doesn’t make sense to delete the rights of same-sex couples and not let them marry because of religion-based beliefs. Besides, men wrote the Bible and other Holy books. It is possible for them to have been inspired by God, but being inspired by his wishes does not make them perfect. Homosexuality is something many people fear, so it is also possible that men have also put their opinions in the pages of the Bible that we read today. Marriage benefits are also important. Benefits such as joint ownership and medical decision-making capacity; the most important being the latter. If a homosexual’s life-partner was hooked up on life support and it decided before between the two that he or she would want to be taken off of it; because they aren’t married, the coherent partner wouldn’t be able to make that decision, Only the immediate family members. This would leave the person helpless to do anything about it. Moving on, the gay lifestyle is way more accepted now and has been proven to have a biological cause. This means that it is something they are born with. It’s like being born with red hair or dark skin. A person can try to mask it, but in the end they can’t change it. It’s something they’re stuck with. Also, denying the gay community the right to marry is a form of minority discrimination, such as the days of old with the African American community being segregated. With a minute population of about 1.02% (Composite US Demographics), it would be wholly unfair to exclude them from marriage because of their small number. Moving on, saying that if gay marriage were allowed that pedophilia and other such perversions would have to be allowed is just plain silly. This would be like saying because eating is allowed at an establishment, then smoking must be also. They are two way different things, not even closely related. Furthermore, gay marriage wouldn’t ruin society or hurt anyone in particular. All it would do is give homosexuals the same rights as heterosexuals. Which isn’t really wrong to begin with. They would just gain what they’ve wanted ever since they ‘came out of the closet’. Equality.

Civil unions are allowed in some states, but for the religious section of the gay community this provides minimal comfort. After all, it’s not a religious ceremony, but just a legal agreement between two people. In legality, this is what a marriage is, but no matter a person’s sexual orientation, should be excluded from the right to marry in the church of their choice and not limited to a courthouse.

In a marriage all that should matter is love. Love is love; and it’s not something you can control with a remote. Just because someone falls in love with someone of their same sex doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to marry. The right to marry should be given to everyone, no matter what his or her sexual orientation is. So since ‘Everyone in America has equal rights’, the gay population deserves the right to marry. People treat the institution of marriage as if it were a privilege. Like when you ‘come out of the closet’ you forfeit your right to marry and have children. Those things aren’t privileges; they are rights. Ones all Americans deserve. So, if freedoms are given they should be given to everyone; and not to a select few based on race, sexual orientation, or beliefs.

In America it is said that everyone is entitled to equal rights, but is that really true? If one takes a look into the past it can be seen that rights have always been unequal for certain groups of people. In this day and age it is believed that this group is now the homosexuals of the United States. The idea of same-sex marriage has been fought over and voted on countless times, but the law has never been passed giving gay couples the right to marry.