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Arguments for same sex marriage
The ongoing controversy between marriage equality and the exercise of religious freedom
Ethical issues in same sex marriage
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The Best Argument against Gay marriage: Glen Lavy’s
“Gay marriage and the ‘slippery slope’ ”
Proponents to the legalization of same sex marriage came up with a lot of reasons as why gay marriage should be legal. The major ones are that not allowing same sex people to get married prevents them from getting legal benefits like hospital visitation, health insurance, family leave and more. They also argued that they are fighting for their rights the same way African Americans were fighting back in the day, and that gay marriage will not threaten our society. For centuries, religious and political leaders had protected the sanctity of marriage as the union of a person with a member of the opposite sex for procreation in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law. Harvard law school graduate Glen Lavy, in his argument in the Los Angeles Times uses many great logical arguments showing that allowing gay marriage can put our society in a “slippery slope” situation. A situation where people involved in incestuous and polygamist relationship will want to be married.
As a senior counsel of a legal alliance of Christian attorneys the Alliance Defense Fund, Lavy could have argued his point in the religious way. He could have argued that the bible forbid same sex relationship also called sodomy, and that people who are involved or support it will burn in the eternal flames. Instead he appealed to the moral perspective of the society. In the beginning of his argument, Lavy strongly and logically asked, “With the California Supreme court’s eradication of the opposite-sex requirement for marriage, what is to prevent a future court from changing things like the binary nature of marriage or the prohibition on incestuous marriage...
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...stic partnership laws give the same legal rights as marriage but in a state level only. We might think that proponent to same sex marriage should try to change the civil unions and domestic partnership law from a law accepted in a state level to a law that is accepted in a national or international level. Is granting these so called rights worth risking leaving our descendent a world where sodomy, polygamy and incest are the norm? Can we even give them an escape as to modify the civil union law? These are the questions that Lavy wants us to ask ourselves. As he clearly explains, there is nothing to stop people in polygamist and incestuous relationship from using the legal blueprint of same sex marriage to advance their cause.
Works Cited
Lavy, Glen. "Gay Marriage and the 'Slippery Slope,' " Latimes.com. Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2008. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
He continues to support the main claim by showing his knowledge of married couples’ legal rights. He explains that homosexual couples that are not allowed to marry are denied tax breaks, group insurance, and pension programs (Stoddard, 1988, p. 551). These are important grounds,...
Legalizing gay marriage has been a controversial topic in the past few years. In my opinion, gay people should be allowed to get married because it is a civil right. It shouldn 't matter what gender they prefer because they 're still regular people. Making gay marriage illegal, is the same as taking away someone 's freedom and civil rights. That is unethical and completely awful. There 's no harm being done by letting two people who are in love with each other get married. However, many religious fundamentalists are against this and believe gay marriage is wrong and needs to be stopped. Homosexual couples should have the right to get married because it 's a civil right and their sexual preference doesn 't make them any less human.
Meezan, William and Jonathan Rauch. "Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting,and America's Children." Marriage and Child Wellbeing 15 (2005): 2.
...ognized that heterosexual, as well as homosexual individuals engaged oral and anal sex (Gay and Lesbian Rights, 49). For many years it was thought that people who were gay had some sort of mental disorder, and there are still plenty of individuals who believe this. Texas has yet to repeal laws condemning persons of sodomy, as well as three other states (Gay and Lesbian Rights, 49). This is evidence that certain individuals in Texas still believe that sodomy is a crime. Many are set in their ways, that the bible states clearly the stipulation that a man with a woman is the only correct and moral pairing of human beings. With knowledge of the overlying historical ideology of justification for discrimination that Baynton discusses in his essay, the egregiousness of this historical and current oppression of those with ‘abnormal’ sexual preferences becomes even clearer.
The American debate on homosexuality reveals an unquestionable, though awfully uninvited, fusion between religion and politics, revealing a dangerous lack of separation between the church and state. The concern is not about the presence of spirituality in American politics, but the implications institutionalized religion has on the lives and rights of human beings. Nothing hinders the political and social progress of lesbian women and gay men quite like the complexities of religion. Dating back to the beginning of literature itself, homosexuality is far from modern. Nonetheless, homosexuality is currently the most divisive and fiercely debated topic in recent religious discourse. While most Christians maintain allegiance in labeling same-sex relationships as morally wrong, the church is dramatically divided on the proper place for gays and lesbians in American society and of course, American politics.
Nagourney, Adam. "Court Strikes Down Ban on Gay Marriage in California." New York Times. N.p., 7 Feb. 2012. Web.
Wolf, Richard. “Timeline: Same-Sex marriage through the years.” USA Today, Gannett Satellite Information Network, 26 June 2015,
...ets down to “value judgment” and how the LBG’s are being hypocritical in a way of advocating that value judgment about marriage is wrong. But yet, they insist that same sex unions might as well be considered marriages on a par with heterosexual marriages; LBG’s making a value judgment about marriages, both their own marriages and those of others. “Rather, they press their judgments on others while, at the same time, refusing to permit others to make judgments.” Bauman makes a very good point at the end of his last sentence in the article using “serves us and our offspring best” as a way to end the article. This opens minds and has you realizing that ‘offspring’ cannot be produced by a homosexual. They are incapable and therefore it could be considered unnatural stopping the natural breeding process, which leads into the next generation; creating the next generation.
... if? The legal consequences of marriage and the legal needs of lesbian and gay male couples. Michigan Law review. Nov.1996. Pg. 447-491. http://www.jstor.org.remote.baruch.cuny.edu/stable/1290119?seq=1&uid=3739664&uid=2134&uid=2&uid=70&uid=4&uid=3739256&sid=21103079482127
...(2004, May 24). The Rise of the Gay Family. U.S. News & World Report, p. 40.
Redlingshafer, JoEllen. "The LGBT Movement Must Look Past Gay Marriage." Policymic. Policymic, 2013. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
Stoddard, T, Fein, B, (Jan. 1990) Gay Marriage, Personal relationships, Marriage, Legislation, Homosexuality, American Bar Association, (Pages 42, 42)
Gay and lesbian unions have been for a long time a subject that no one liked to discuss. For the last few decades, gays and lesbians have come out and expressed their sexuality preferences. Many believe that same sex marriage should not be legalized because it's against the moral. It's against the definition of marriage, which is considered as the union of a man and a woman as a husband and wife. Same sex marriage should be legalized because the way society views the union of lesbian and gays can a change. Another reason why same sex marriage should be legalized is that children that are issued from a gay or lesbian couple will be loved and raised in a family that is legally recognized under the law. Lesbians and gays also deserve to have the same rights as heterosexuals.
There are many opponents of gay people as it is, and they all have their reasons to dislike the idea of permitting them get married. One of the main reasons is that the primary purpose of marriage is procreation. Because gay couples are unable to have children, they should not be allowed to marry (Schiffen 495). Another main argument is that the word marriage means the union of one man and one woman. This is a long-standing theme of most major Western religions. Under a proposed bill known as the Defense of Marriage act, marriage is defined as “a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife.” Furthermore, it defines a spouse as “ a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or wife” (What 1). Under these guidelines, it is quite obvious that gay couples would not be eligible for marriage. People against homosexual marriage also say that it is a person’s choice to be gay. Since the individual chooses to be a homosexual, they should not be given special privileges. Another argument that you hear is that these couples should not get married simply because of the torment and ridicule they would be faced with in their everyday lives. There are news reports from across America telling about how a gay person was beaten or killed just because they were looked at as different. Some of these people would end up the target of verbal abuse and maybe even physical abuse, just because some heterosexual people see them as different.
Firstly I will discuss the reasons for marriage equality. I argue marriage equality is in the best interest for family life. Allowing homosexuals to form stable committed relationships through marriage would allow for healthier homosexual relationships. You can’t prevent people from being homosexual however giving those people the right to marry can help them experience greater personal happiness. Studies have suggested that not only does legalizing marriage in an area generally make homosexual individuals in that area happier; it also makes them physically and mentally healthier and saves them money on health care (Hatzenbuehler, O’Cleirigh, Grasso, Mayer, Safren, & Bradford, 20012). I don’t see any compelling reason to take away the joy homosexuals get from marriage, this is one of the many reasons I support marriage equality.