Gay Marriage: Can Everyone Marry Who They Choose?
If it wasn’t for one mom and one dad none of us would exist. Marriage is defined as “the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc” (marriage). Parents have the role to raise their children in love and teach them good values. “They note that violence among homosexual partners is two to three times more common than among married heterosexual couples, and homosexual partnerships are significantly more prone to dissolution than heterosexual marriages, with the average homosexual relationship lasting only two to three years” (Diggs). Children have the right to grow up in a home where there is no abuse taking place, and they feel loved and cared for. “Captain William Riddle of the Los Angeles Police says, ‘30,000 sexually abused children in Los Angeles were victims of homosexuals’” (The Statistics). But that is not how it should be. There is a cycle in life that we should follow. Parents should raise their children and teach them how to survive in the world. Parents should want their children to be raised better than they themselves have been. Society is in need of males and females to commit to each other and have children for the survival of society (Gallagher 71). “There is a notable homosexual group, consisting of thousands of members, known as the North American Man and Boy Love Association (NAMBLA). This is a child molesting homosexual group whose cry is ‘SEX BEFORE 8 BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE’” (The Statistics).
There are greater health risks to the homosexual population than the heterosexual population. Not only are there several diseases at risk, but also there are men...
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... keep anyone from getting married normally; neither would it change what the definition of marriage is either. The argument over gay marriage is not some small subject. “either we win—or we lose the central meaning of marriage” (Gallagher 69).
Some fallacies in the pro homosexual content are stereotyping that marriage is a place where having children is not only tolerated and encouraged because it gives children mothers and fathers (Gallagher 69).
Homosexuality is not a small issue. It is something that pro-heterosexual marriage supporters have been fighting for some time. If society wants to take a stance on this it will have to come together as one unit to not corrupt the future children with wrong values and beliefs. That is the only way to keep from tearing apart families, creating health risks, and help future generations to fulfill the purpose of being.
Gay marriage further damages the connection between marriage and parenthood by causing people to not consider marriagement just to be a parent. He later on argues that marriage has been a tradition since the beginning of time and everything supports it. “The family, led by a married mother and father, is the best available structure for both child rearing and cultural health. This is why, although some people will always pair off in unorthodox ways, society as a whole must never legitimize any form of marriage other than that of one man and one woman, united with the intention of permanency and the nurturing of children” (Colson
" The Apple doesn 't fall far from the tree". " Because your parents are gay, doesn 't that make you the same way?" These are things that many kids hear. You are expected to turn out to be like your parents. You are stereotyped the moment you are born. However, when you are the child of same-sex parents you not only get labeled as a homosexual, but you also get all the stigma that any adult homosexual may receive. LGBT parents are just as eligible to be parents as heterosexual couples and despite the long standing stereotype, the children of same sex couples should not be stuck under the same stereotype as their adult counterparts, and the sexuality of a couple should not validate societies need to assume the sexuality of their child.
The world today is surrounded with many controversial issues. One such issue would be the topic of gay marriage. This country has grown around one major tradition, being the definition of marriage. It’s more-less looked at as a religious or legal commitment between a women and man, to express their love and compassion towards one another, being the last and final step there is to take with that significant other. Homosexual relationships are rapidly gaining acceptance in this country. However, the Defensive of Marriage Act, that former president Clinton signed in 1996, is holding many back from being able to marry what could be the significant other of their dreams. Homosexuality effects from 8% to 15% of all males, as well as females being slightly less than the male population. To put this in a more familiar context, there are as many gays and lesbians in America today as there are unemployed citizens. There are a few states which formed a type of commitment called a "civil union", which basically is marriage without using the word "marriage." Gay couples are denied significant rights when they are not allowed to marry, and these result in injustices within society. Most carry the burden of hiding their sexual identity for fear of being disrespected or mistreated by the general population who remain ignorant to the causes and circumstances of homosexuality. This puzzles many due to the excess amount of investigative work that has been done on the phenomenon, as well as puzzling the church as to who would want to look into the concept in such a sinful matter.
Same-sex marriage is one of the leading political topics in the United States today. There is an ongoing dispute pertaining to the legalization of same-sex marriages. America has shifted its head to focusing on supporting same-sex marriage or not. Many are for and against this topic but there has been no settlement for it yet. Homosexuals want to marry for the same reason that heterosexuals have and there should be no reason why they are not allowed to. There is some history behind this topic but there has yet to be a solution.
As a predominately conservative nation, it is ideal that we as a group do not redefine the term marriage under the Constitution of the United States. It is not a question of equality, simply because men and woman will never be equivalent—both parties have different complex qualities from their hormones, genitals, brain functioning, and to their overall genetic make-up. Homosexuality holds about 5% of the population, meaning that the majority would be forced to conform to the minority. It is imperative that we recognize the consequences of gay marriage which include: health risks, redefining sexual morality, reduction of the population, many being affected spiritually, and forcing the government to change laws to accommodate the minority.
The idea that lesbians and gay men may be parents is often perceived as impossible or immoral. Gay men and lesbians are often excluded from having children because sexual reproduction is related to men and women only. My approach to this controversial topic of gay parenting will be that of attempting to analyze the Pro side first. Gays and lesbians deserve equal rights in our society. Society has to realize that the modern family has transformed into many different forms in recent years in that the "nuclear family" is not necessarily the best.
Families are very diverse, however their dynamic has always been very black and white. When thinking about what a family is a lot of people have drifted towards the idea of a mother and father raising children. It has not been until recently that fact of Gay and Lesbian couples raising children has come into the spotlight. Yet, same-sex couples having been raising children for practically forever. The possibility of same-sex couples raising children has caused a great deal of controversy and anger in the media. Some believe that Gays and Lesbians are an abomination and should not be given the chance to “damage” our youth. The most common reasoning for their thinking being that God created a man and a woman to be together and homosexuals are an abomination. Others believe that Gays and Lesbians are just like everyone else and should be awarded the same rights.
... identities, roles and affections based upon reproductive sexuality which to religion, it has against the god given way of ordering life (Somerville, 2000). Therefore, it is viewed a social deviance since for conservatives’, family should be consisting of heterosexual parents with a clear segregation in the roles based on sexual differences in the family so that the parents can inculcate proper values in children (Hughes and Fergusson, 2004, p60) whereas children that have been brought up by a same sex couple could suffer detrimental effects to their psychological and social well-being. However, a research done by The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI, 2009) invalidated the conservatives’ theories because the children that were raised by same sex couples were reported to be as normal, positive as the children raised by opposite sex couple.
Since the 1970s, studies on the effect of same-sex parenting on children have been conducted in the United States. Sociological debates have occurred from the idea of allowing same-sex couples to parent. Some groups feel that allowing this would undermine the traditional ideology of marriage and skew the perception of gender roles for their children. Sociologists continue to produce empirical research that studies samples of the approximately 125,000 same-sex couples raising nearly 220,000 children and comparing their roles as parents and the adult personalities of their children to children raised by heterosexual couples. Current scientific research comparing the outcomes of children raised by gay or lesbian parents with children of heterosexual parents consistently shows that same-sex parents are just as capable of raising “psychologically healthy and well-adjusted” children as heterosexual parents. Research comparing children raised by same-sex couples and heterosexual couples found no differences in the adjustment or mental health of these children as adults.
Homosexuality is one of the most controversial issues in today’s society. This practice was not acceptable a long time ago. Now, this is a common trend and people are learning to accept and deal with this issue. However, many people have different perspectives on this issue. Ellen Friedrichs and Trayce Hensen are two of many that have opposing viewpoints on homosexuality whether a family does not have to include a mother and father or a family must include a mother and father.
Research has determined that the majority of stable homosexual adult couples are in committed and long lasting relationships. Assumptions have been made that homosexuals base their sexual preference just on the pleasure of sex, and sometimes are misconstrued as perverts because of this. On the contrary, homosexual couples, like heterosexuals, form deep emotional attachments, ‘fall in love’, and remain loyal to a single partner. Researchers have found that “Being denied the right to marry reinforces the stigma associated with a minority sexual identity and that living in a state where same-sex marriage is outlawed can lead to chronic social stress and mental health problems.” (http://www.apa.org)
In today’s world, most of society still does not approve of gay couples adopting and being parents for a number of reasons. Some believe that by the parents being gay it will make their children gay too. Studies found[however], that there is a large absence of distinguishing characteristics among the lifestyles, child-rearing practices, and basic demographic data of homosexual and heterosexual parents (Minter 70). Others believe that gay couples should not be parents because the Bible only says that a child should honor their mother and father. On the other hand, other people think that there is nothing wrong with gay couples adopting children and becoming parents. These people believe that homosexual couples should be more welcomed as parents
In the last ten years, many established gay men and lesbians have been increasingly undertaking parenthood through donor insemination, surrogacy, or fostering and adoption (McCann, 2005). Thus, a new type of family formation in American society has been generated. Due to the formation of same-sex households, gay and lesbian parenting is no longer a concept. This type of parenting has become a reality which society as a whole is struggling to accept (McCann, 2005).
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.
Marriage naturally creates families; it provides the conditions for a healthy environment that is beneficial to the upbringing of children. Opponents of same-sex marriage often ground their arguments on parental and religious concerns. Many argue that sa...