Archive for February 28th, 2009

Homosexuals should be allowed to marry. To me, this is obvious. They are Americans protected by the Constitution, which gives each American equal rights. Our society has built up finding a partner to spend the rest of your life with as one of the main means of finding happiness, and denying homosexuals this right denies them their pursuit of happiness. In addition to this, denying them the ability to marry and all the rights and benefits that come with marriage implies that they are second-class citizens, that they are somehow lower than the rest of Americans because of who they are. They are fine to watch on television, just as long as they don’t have equal rights. What an absolute joke.

I am so sick of the argument that homosexuality is a choice. I just spent a couple minutes searching through LexisNexis Academic and JSTORE and studies showing that homosexuality is not a choice are seemingly infinite. With humans and animals, sexual preference is often fixed at birth. Over 450 species of animals exhibit homosexual behavior (The Monitor). Man is an animal. Whether it is a gene, the hypothalamus, or any other number of things, homosexuals are who they are. If you want more proof that homosexuality is not a choice, think of it this way: Does it make someone’s life easier to “choose” homosexuality? If it’s a choice, why do so many repressed fundamentalists who a oppose gay marriage get busted engaging in homosexual activity?

The main opposition to gay marriage is religious. This really upsets me. This is America, but we are letting religious views deny a minority equal rights. What happened to separation of church and state? That is one of America’s biggest contributions to the world, and it should matter. We don’t have a state religion, we don’t force people to go to church on Sunday, and we shouldn’t deny rights based on interpretations of religious dogma. I would even argue it from a religious perspective. Did Jesus ever say anything about homosexuality? No. If you want to use the Old Testament as your guide, then all Christians should be keeping Kosher and stoning people for a huge number of offenses.

What is left? Any slippery slope argument cannot work in a debate, because it is a fallacy. Even if one were to take up the fallacy and argue that gay marriage would lead to polygamy and marrying animals or whatever, they would be wrong. The logic just is not there. It is an attempt to change the subject, and it is not the point.

I’m not sure what other arguments against gay marriage there are. Gay marriage is not an attack on traditional marriage. How is it an attack? I never understood this logic, either. How does allowing gays to marry affect traditional marriage? As Jon Stewart said, “Divorce isn’t caused because 50% of marriages end in gayness.” For me, it is as simple as this: If you don’t want a gay marriage, don’t get one. How simple is that?

In America, history does not look kindly on those that opposed civil rights. Interracial marriage was once illegal, and the people who wanted to keep it that way look absolutely ridiculous. The fight for gay rights will be remembered in the same way. People will look back and wonder how anyone could have wanted to make gay marriage illegal, how Americans could have denied fellow Americans equal rights.

Again, if you don’t want a gay marriage, don’t get one. But don’t force your beliefs on others.

Adam Feser