Gay Marriage

Gay marriage is a unique issue in that it is immensely contentious and in that it directly affects very few Americans. Yet, election after election, politicians are grilled on the question of whether or not two people of the same gender should be allowed to marry. In country after country, conservative religious institutions pour millions of dollars of their precious resources into organizing rallies to protest gay marriage and civil unions. What would happen if gay marriage became legal in the US? Could there really be immense social consequences to broadening the definition of marriage to include gays and lesbians? To find out, we will examine evidence from some of the 5 countries that have already legalized same sex marriage (the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada, and South Africa).

Social conservatives use a buffet of scrumptious arguments to try to discredit the idea of gay marriage. The first of these, favored by many Catholic institutions, is that gay marriage would lead to higher divorce rates. This argument is blatantly false; in fact, Massachusetts (the only state in the US where gays are allowed to marry) has the lowest divorce rate of any state in the union. Contrast that to the divorce rates in states like Texas and Mississippi, where gay marriage is banned, and you will find that states with the highest divorce rates are almost unanimously the reddest states in the US of A. Furthermore, there has been no spike in divorce rates in European countries after the legalization of gay marriage. Indeed, evidence strongly suggests that the advent of no-fault divorces in the 1900s has been the main cause for higher divorce rates in the western world. So much for Argument #1.

The Pandora’s Box argument goes as follows: “If you expand the definition of marriage to include homosexuals, how can you deny marriage to polygamists, incestuous relationships, and bestiality?” This argument is becoming slightly less popular, although commentators like Bill O’Reilly still use it. The simple fact is that none of the countries that have legalized gay marriage have gone on to expand marriage to include the groups above. There is no evidence whatsoever that giving gays the right to marry will lead to a larger expansion of marriage eligibility. Furthermore, the state has a vested interest in keeping many of the groups above from marrying; just look at the terrible abuse of women that goes on in many polygamist communities. It is also worth pointing out that animals cannot sign a marriage license (except perhaps apes…..dear God, not the apes…..).

The third and final argument against gay marriage that I will present (there are several other arguments that are even more foolish) is that legalizing gay marriage will harm children, as married gay couples would be able to adopt more easily. Though the idea of gay adoption makes many heterosexuals queasy, it is worth pointing out that the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and many other reputable organizations all hold that gays are just as good at parenting as heterosexuals. Indeed, the single most important factor in deciding which households are fit to adopt is whether or not the household is a loving one.

So… if there are no valid arguments for banning same-sex marriage, what are the arguments for legalizing it? Simply put, marriage is a fundamental right. It is not a privilege- privileges are earned, and I defy anyone to tell me how heterosexuals like Britney Spears earned the privilege to marry people they barely know. Though it is true that there are limitations on the right to marry, there is no reason why these limitations should be applied to gays and lesbians (ie. the state has no interest in banning gay marriage). The Constitution guarantees that all citizens shall be treated equally under the law- this includes marriage law.

Although only 25% of Americans voice support for gay marriage in most polls, a plurality of the nation’s youth support giving gays the right to wed over civil unions or no recognition. Gay marriage is probably inevitable in the US; the only way for social conservatives to stop it is with a Constitutional Amendent (very unlikely). Heterosexuals continue to use gays and lesbians as scapegoats for social ills like high divorce rates and dropping marriage rates. This is pure foolishness- the decriminalization of adultery, the end of restrictions on contraceptives, no-fault divorces, and the legalization of cohabitation are the real culprits of the decline of marriage. Heterosexuals, not homosexuals, passed these laws. Marriage will not be harmed by including new, eager participants- it will only be strengthened.

MR

PS: For fun check out http://www.gayvote.com/.