Being a rational person, I cannot quite understand the tension about same-sex marriage (SSM) legalization. It seems for the most part that it is the Jesus Freaks (not you sane Xtians, mind you) and the committed homophobes that want SSM to be not only criminal but probably to exterminate all gays and lesbians. Once these people put down the swastikas and the Bible and perhaps pull their heads from each other’s assess we might get somewhere on this topic.
I have seen a lot of arguments against it and none of them have any educational merit. Shall I dispel the myths before delving into my main point? All my counter-points can be backed up with statistical data that is easily found online thanks to the census and other research sources.
1) “The homosexual lifestyle encourages the spread of AIDS.” While it is true that gays and lesbians are less likely to use barrier methods during sexual contact because there is no chance of unwanted pregnancies, this is false. The main group of people who contract and spread HIV are heterosexual males in their 20’s to 40’s. The lowest percentage of HIV infection belongs to lesbians predominantly and followed up by gays.
2) “God hates homosexuals, it says so in the Bible.” Try reading your Bible with a historical instead of a literal translation (case in point: a rich man has a better chance of passing thru the eye of a needle than getting into heaven). Paul was most noted for his letters to the Romans regarding homosexuality because at the time it was the only politically correct subject to talk about. The main passage used to condemn the gay lifestyle is the one about a man lying with another man. If you actually read this passage you would see that the issue was the other man being a criminal and harboring him would be an offense to God. Jesus was a kind man who loved everyone no matter his or her race, creed, nationality and sexual orientation. If you are going to use anyone as your role model for prejudice, use someone who is actually prejudiced.
3) “SSM is destroying the family value system and will encourage anarchy and the breakdown of the home.” Let me get this straight: Two people who want to remain monogamous to each other the rest of their lives and want to symbolize their union with a legal admission to that fact are out to corrupt the world? If anything these people want to enforce the ideal that there are all sorts of families out there that want nothing more than to be a unit and work together. They want to encourage the same things that marriage between a man and a woman do: Monogamy, trust, love and the right to express that in all facets of their life.
4) “Homosexuality is unnatural. You don’t see it anywhere else in nature.” A few months ago a group of researchers discovered that tribes of monkeys in a location in South America show homosexual tendencies. Female monkeys are engaging in lesbian behavior in these tribes, leaving out the males entirely. In other tribes, the males are seen acting in a bisexual way, having intercourse with male and female monkeys. Nature has shown us that it is just as natural as heterosexual sex.
If you ever have any doubts about what the criminalization of SSM would do to loving people in a monogamous relationship would do watch “If These Walls Could Talk 2”. The first vignette is about an elderly lesbian couple that has been together over thirty years. One woman suffers a stroke and is admitted to the hospital. Her partner is treated like a subhuman during this hard time, especially following her partner’s death. She stayed at the hospital all night and day, begging for information about her partner and was told that only family would be given it. Her partner dies and she was not even told until she tried to visit her in ICU. She contacts her partner’s family and they proceeded to strip her of the belongings that they collected together over the years and the home they lived in. If this had happened to a woman who’s husband had died you would be appalled. If marriage between these people was legal she would have had the rights entitled to any couple and would have been able to keep the property that was by all rights hers as much as they were her partners. I cannot watch this without crying. It is injustice plain and simple and no one should have to endure that.
It wasn’t until a few decades ago that African-Americans were given the right to legally marry in a smattering of southern states. It is only fair that any adult who wants to legalize their union should be able to. This is an infringement on human rights. Homosexuals are told that their emotions and lives are secondary to an antiquated view purported by oblivious heterosexuals.
Just because a couple does not engage in the sexual conduct that is considered “natural” does not mean that their love isn’t. If love is unnatural, I do not want to think about what is. I fully support the rights of homosexuals to marry legally and have the rights of anyone else in this institution. I have read that some think that gays and lesbians are just trying to attract attention to them by wanting SSM to be legalized. Damn straight (no pun intended)! Attention should be paid to the bigoted view of making marriage an exclusive club. Crazed heterosexuals want to keep marriage a segregated institution that does not consider the fact that they are denying good people the right to be together on paper.
What is it about homosexual marriage that is really scaring them? The world is changing, sometimes for the worse. The legalization of SSM will finally confirm that all the lip service given to homosexuals about being equal citizens is true. Values are changing all the time. Women used to be second-class citizens as well. No vote, no property rights, no equal pay for equal work and were treated as sex objects. African-Americans had the same problems. We overcame these issues as we matured as a people because we realized it was wrong to deny these groups basic human rights. Let’s keep growing and being more considerate to our fellow humans.
For those who believe that homosexuality is wrong, you should reexamine your own values. Do you want to love your partner? Do you want to marry them? Do you want to make a family and a life built on monogamy and trust? Do you want to be able to have the same insurance, co-own your house and know that your partner is protected financially after your death? So do homosexuals. Love and trust should be the deciding factor in getting married. Not whether or not you want to be with the opposite sex.
