Resolved: Gay marriage would weaken the insitutuion of marriage

Thanks, Pro.Re: C1 - Gays Cheat On Each Other More It makes no sense whatsoever to say that being married will specifically make gays want to seek extra-marital partners. Pro must either justify this contention or drop it all-together. While studies suggest gay couples have higher rates of promiscuity, we must consider several things. First, not all surveys are reliable considering people lie, and married people have an incentive to lie and undermine their cheating. Second, Pro is comparing the statistics of non-married couples to married couples. This is problematic because marriages are "more serious" commitments. In order for this contention to have merit, Pro should compare the statistics of non-married heterosexuals to non-married homosexuals (in which case the numbers would look very different). Finally, Pro's statistics may not be accurate. His source suggests that just 25% of married heterosexuals cheat. Meanwhile, other studies show that it can be up to 60% of couples and in fact are likely higher given high divorce rates [1].Pro says that there are a "high number of break-ups" among lesbians. First of all, this is entirely irrelevant to the issue at hand and I can easily cite statistics that show heterosexuals experience just as many break-ups. Second, lesbians are stereotyped to stay in long-lasting and monogamous relationships, so again Pro must either cite his facts or drop this contention. Pro continues, "[Gay marriages] are wrong because 'gay marriage' is a contradiction in terms." The definitions, terms and parameters surrounding marriage have evolved throughout history. Marriage today has completely different connotations than it has in the past. Currently, the United States government and the Church define marriage to be between a man and a woman. However the Constitution could easily be rewritten to eliminate those specifications, and Pro's contention would lose all merit. The fact is that gay marriage IS recognized by some States and some Churches, therefore is not always a contradiction in terms (so this point is negated). Furthermore this argument in no way explains how this so-called contradiction would weaken the institution of marriage, so it's a moot point anyway. I've already explained why Pro's statistics regarding the longevity of a homosexual couple's relationship and/or how many sexual partner's they've had each year are irrelevant, or rather not analogous. However more importantly, there is no right or wrong way for a couple to behave sexually; that is up to the individual couples to decide for themselves. Some couples are swingers and both partners enjoy extra-marital affairs openly. Some couples frequently participate in threesomes. Some couples are polygamous and/or polyamorous. Consider Mormons who are heterosexuals and experience marriage, often with multiple wives. All of these various heterosexal lifestyles have apparently not crushed the entire social structure of marriage. Instead, these people are given the right to enjoy and experience their relationships to whatever extent they deem appropriate for themselves. Pro has given us no reason whatsoever to assume that even if or just because homosexual couples might cheat more often, that it would undermine or alter the significance of marriage in general. If that were true, then why hasn't their infidelity affected heterosexual couples' fidelity already? After all, homosexual couples experience relationships just as their heterosexual counterparts do. It would be more realistic to recognize that people's behavior as individuals does not and probably will not affect the behavior of other people. Pro must prove that the behavior of people within gay relationships will affect how other people behave in their marriages. Then he must prove that monogamy is of paramount importance to marriage in general. If he is able to do this, we'll continue from there...Re: C2 - Gays Are More Violent Toward Each OtherDue to character space limits, for now I will once again repeat that Pro must prove how this weakens the institution of marriage and will affect marriage in general. I contend that violence is dangerous and unacceptable with or without the legal recognition of marriage and is therefore irrelevant. Re: C3 - Gays Have A Higher Suicide RateThis is perhaps Pro's weakest contention. First, gays tend to kill themselves thanks in part to the unwarranted backlash they experience from the bigots in society who torture, bully and abuse them, or make them feel awkward, unloved or demented for absolutely no justifiable reason. If people stopped harassing gays for something as frivolous and insignificant as their sexual orientation, the world would be a better place in which people didn't feel the need to kill themselves because they were tortured and upset about their own identity. Second, I once again fail to see what this has to do with hurting the concept marriage. Instead this is just another appeal to emotion in which Pro (or the Conservative's he mimicking like a parrot from his sources) attempt to depict gays as mentally unstable. Re: C4 - Gay Commitment Is LowerWe've already addressed all of these points.Re: C5 - Out of Wedlock Baby IncreaseThis argument is hilarious and non-sensical. How does same-sex registered partnerships relate to a sharp rise in out-of-wedlock births?! Gay couples cannot naturally conceive children, and this statistic has to do with people who have babies OUT of wedlock - not within wedlock! Therefore, an increase in same-sex marriage would mean (if gays had anything at all to do with this statistic) that more babies would be conceived WITHIN wedlock. Honestly this argument is ridiculous. Pro needs to explain how this is relevant to the topic at hand, rather than just copy and paste some absurd argument which does absolutely nothing to support his case. Re: C6 - Gays Have Higher Divorce RatesBefore I respond to this, I want to see the proof. Pro's source includes a broken link which means I cannot verify this. Re: C7 - ReligionIrrelevant (see Closing Points).Re: C8 - There Is No Benefit to Same-Sex MarriageI think that's Pro's point...? I invite Pro to detail the benefits of marriage, and then I will explain exactly how and why homosexuals can experience the same benefits. Pro says we "don't know" if gays can enjoy the same benefits, yet has not included one reasonable explanation as to how or why they wouldn't be able to. I will detail why the benefits of marriage for everyone can still be enjoyed even if gay people are given the legal right to marry. == Sources and Closing Points == Pro essentially copied and pasted his arguments from other sources, pretty much word-for-word (I invite everyone to click on his 4th source, specifically). Pro's main source is Conservapedia, a pro-conservative Wiki that intentionally and specifically endorses a Conservative POV, rather than try and be complete and thorough with their facts and analysis. Pro also relies on The Family Research Council to make his case, which is a conservative, right-wing Christian group and lobbying organization which again advocates a specific perspective using a lot of propaganda.All of Pro's sources should be taken with a grain of salt. Most are backed by religious sentiments, though religion has absolutely nothing to do with marriage. We know this because two consenting adults (heterosexuals, in most states) can get married even if they are Atheist, Pagan or any other religion, and the Church has absolutely no say. Therefore, the Church's ideals cannot be used to speak against marriage in general. Pro's sources are biased and misleading. Thus far Pro has not established what marriage is supposed to be and its alleged benefits, or how gay marriage would negatively impact the institution. Instead he just includes (many unproven) anti-gay statistics. He has not met his burden.Sources: http://www.debate.org...;