Gay Mariages

We All Hope to Be Gay

Marriage has been a part of human beings since before the medieval age. Historically, marriage has been seen as religion and civil union that bring a man and a woman together for the purpose of bonding a family. When it comes to marry legally neither religion nor race is an obstacle but sexual orientation is. Gay people who have growing up feeling different than the majority of their peers since they feel attracted to same sex ones are discriminated and not allowed to marry legally as the heterosexual ones do. Many people are opposite to the homosexual marriage and they believe that it is against the moral, the definition of marriage, family values and sanctity. However, these ideas are wrong because giving equal rights and status do not affect anyone else and it certainly won’t bring the society down. Seeing that it isn’t something destructive, Netherlands became the first country to allow same sex marriages 12 years ago and Denmark was the first country to introduce civil partnership for same sex couples in 1989 (BBC, 23 April 2013). No matter what other people say, gay couples have right to get married because they are who they are and there is nothing wrong with it at all.

People insist on believing that gay marriages harm society and not acceptable from religious aspects. However, everybody has right to live the way they want and gay marriages should not be forbidden. It is thought that if same sex marriages are legalized, the number of gay ones may arise which is perceived as a potential threat to marriage institutions. This opinion is completely incorrect since same sex marriages do not undermine the value of traditional marriage and traditional marriage will still exist the way it always has. Suppose that there is a couple married 10 years and a gay couple move to the place where they live, will it change or weaken the relationship of the other couple? It is totally out of question as it will not affect that couple at all. Moreover, gay marriages have potential to decrease the divorce rate.  According to NBC 5 Chicago, in states where same-sex marriages are legally recognized, the divorce rate is 20 percent lower than in the states that only allow marriages between a man and a woman (Huff Post, May 17, 2014). Another thing that people think believe that will happen is polygamous but it is irrelevant because the question of who can marry is different question from how many can marry. We are not asking the government to change the marriage but include a group of people that have been excluded. Even if gay marriages are accepted by society somehow, it is thought that giving some rights to them is not a good decision because of causing more request of other minority and not having ability to have children. Actually it will not cause as they do not want more rights but want to have the rights as heterosexual ones do. When it comes to having children, they can adopt children which will be quite useful for both the children and society. Adopting children is thought something wrong for gay people but what about the widow or infertile ones? As anybody else they should have the right of adopting and it is better than having no parents.

 Although marriage is a civil union and religions shouldn’t involve in gay marriage, many argue that it is an essential religious method and legalizing gay marriages is a kind of sacrilege.  In Christianity and Islam, same sex marriage is condemned. In Islam, Lot is an honored figure in the Quran where the story of Lot people and the destruction of Sodom appear five times and Bible also does mention and condemn same sex twice in Leviticus (18:22 and 20:13) and once Genesis (19:1-11) (USC Annenberg, May 17, 2014). These things date back to old times but still today one of the popes called Francis and his predecessor Benedict XVI has restated that the Roman Catholic Church opposition to same sex marriage (The Advocate, July 5, 2013) which shows that much time has passed but ideas hasn’t changed. Furthermore, same sex marriage is punished in religions which lead alienating people from society and giving capital punishment. There are some evidences of alienating like declining to take picture of lesbian couples’ ceremony in Mexico, not providing flowers for a same sex couple wedding in Washington State (The Learning Network, February 24, 2014). This type of behaviors gives harm to society and cause to discrimination. The point that everybody is equal and free to do whatever wants should not be forgotten. Besides alienating, capital punishments like imprison, flogging and death penalty are used for the ones who is homosexual. Muslim believes that homosexuality stems from exposure, conditioning and it is a challenge to overcome.  Indeed, what religion suggests is much crueler but it is still not seen by many people. It is worse to believe religion stuff than supporting gay marriages.

Many people sense homosexuality as a mental illness, a gender disorder, a contagious disease, a perversity, an abnormality and the result of seduction. While the scientific research of medicine, psychiatry and psychology has clearly stated that a homosexual orientation is not a disease, many people ignore this scientific knowledge and they want homosexual ones to take therapy called reorientation which wants to change the orientation of the person is applied. However, mainstream psychologists say the therapy is ineffective, unethical and often harmful, exacerbating anxiety and self-hatred among those treated for what is not a mental disorder (Live Science, August 19, 2013). Only in 1990 did the World Health Organization removed homosexuality from the International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems. The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders in 1973 (The Washington Times, April 14, 2013). Although it is not a disease according to scientific information, people say it is an illness which is actually ideological prejudges. According to a Pew Research Center in 39 countries broad acceptance of homosexuality exist in North America, the European Union, and much of Latin America, but equally widespread rejection in predominantly Muslim nations and in Africa, as well as in parts of Asia and in Russia. Opinion about the acceptability of homosexuality is divided in Israel, Poland and Bolivia (Pew Research Center, June 4, 2013). People sense homosexuality   as a bad and sinful thing. The most difficult aspect of prejudge is one’s heart.  Psychology teaches us that prejudice and discrimination are human tendencies and we shape our identity by differentiating ourselves from others. Why do they make it harder for people just because they have a different skin color, God or gender preference? These kind of prejudges should be broken down for the favor of the society as soon as possible.

All in all, we have no right to take away the privilege of marriage from two people who wish to commit to a relationship with whom they love. Society has come a long way from the days of illegal interracial marriage however intolerance still exists for many minority groups, and to legalize same sex marriage would be taking a step closer to a nation free from prejudice. Same sex couples should not have to hide who they are as it is supposed to be land of free. Denying their marry right means denying their basic rights such as hospital visitation rights, social security benefits, healthcare and joint taxes. In addition, people claim that it is against Bible or Quran but actually Bible has lead to the slaughter of more people than all wars combined in the name of God and throughout the history people have used Biblical to validate slavery. Therefore, people should not be guided by something which is already sinful. Gay marriage should not be judged as Harvey Milk says “It takes no compromise to give people their rights...it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression.”