Gay marriage should be legal

I appreciate the opportunity to be debating such a important topic. In this debate, I will be arguing that the United States government should not legalize same-sex marriage. I think we should start by actually establishing what the term 'marriage' means. Since we are debating on the legalization of same-sex marriage then we should look into the governments description of it. We should note that a personnel view on marriage does not change the governmental description and usage of marriage. What is Marriage? The governmental usage of the term marriage means, "In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word "marriage" means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife."[2] Currently there are 37 states that have passed laws which define marriage as 'limited to a union between one man and one woman.' Thirteen states, therefore, do not currently have laws on their books which limit marriage to a union between one man and one woman.[1] As we see in our current governmental usage of marriage we have the determining factor as one male and one female. The purpose of marriage is to continue with the survival of humanity. The marriage between a man and a woman has been the primary factor for the growth of society. We have our justification for the current use of marriage by the government. We in fact see that there is a separation of church and state in the United States.[3] No legal right It can be no doubt true that marriage should be a legal right for everyone that lives up to the definition of marriage by our government. Same-sex marriage does not fulfill the purpose of marriage so set by our government and therefore should not be legal. Same-sex marriage is not protected or justified by equal or protection rights or laws because there is basically no such right to begin with.[5] "So before we can conclude that some marriage policy violates the Equal Protection Clause, or any other moral or constitutional principle, we have to determine what marriage actually is and why it should be recognized legally in the first place." [4] My opponent must first qualify same-sex marriage has having the equal right to be married. He can not invent his own version of marriage to fit his needs but must use the term in the way our government uses it if we are to determine if same-sex marriage should be legal. No law should be passed that goes in direct conflict with the majority of the peoples voting opinion. People should not have their tax dollars used to support something they find wrong. Gay marriage would entitle gay couples to typical marriage benefits including claiming a tax exemption, receiving social security payments, and coverage by a health insurance policies.[9] Social Norms "Social norms are the shared expectations of group members in a social situation or Social norms are the standard of right and wrong in society. The society expects from its members to abide by the normative behavior. Culture provides sources of conformity to the norms and an intimidation to their violation. These norms guide our interaction pattern on the one hand and are reproduced during the same process. Without the existence of group’s norms, human behavior cannot be differentiated from animal behavior. Social norms protect our values. Social norms are the boundary walls for values protection."[8] The reason for change in norms is growth but same-sex marriage provides no growth. It has been the norm throughout society that marriage is between a man and woman exhibited in my first contention. It causes grief and puts a 'on the spot' situation for parents explaining these abnormal activities. This will cause discomfort in parents and also children. Even a young child knows that mommy and daddy makes babies. Loss of meaning "When words lose their meaning, people lose their freedom." Confucius By allowing same-sex couples to wed, marriage will no longer have the same meaning it once had. After we allow same-sex marriage, what then will be next? What reasons would one have for stopping polygamy or polyandry? "It's not a good idea for society to move away from the time-honoured position of marriage as a union between a man and a woman." Dr Sharon James, Coalition For Marriage campaign group[7] Changing the definition and understanding of marriage will affect the whole of society. The main aspects and productive understandings of society about the union of marriage centers around rearing children. Inadequate parenting Though rarely thought about is the view children take upon marriage. What does a child think about having a same-sex parental environment? This could thus give alot of confusion on a child by not being able to determine if men should be with men or men should be with women and vice versa. Are we to say that a child is not much more productive when their home rears both a man and woman as parents? "Marriage is already threatened with high divorce rates (between 40% and 50%) and with 40.6% of babies being born to unmarried mothers in 2008. Allowing same-sex couples to marry would further weaken the institution."[9] There is also a overwhelming need for adoption for society and 'yes' same-sex couples do in fact help in this regard but this hardly provides just means for same-sex couples to become married. There is in fact reason to believe that even if they were to become parents, they would not do as an adequate job as heterosexuals.[7] "The deficiencies of studies on homosexual parenting include reliance upon an inadequate sample size, lack of random sampling, lack of anonymity of research participants, and self-presentation bias. On the other hand, there is an abundance of evidence to demonstrate the dangerous consequences of homosexual behavior and the unstable nature of homosexual relationships. And despite the weaknesses of the research focused specifically on homosexual parents, there is significant evidence that their children suffer, particularly in the area of sexual adjustment. Meanwhile, a well-established and growing body of evidence (amply documented in FRC’s companion volume, The Family Portrait) shows that both mothers and fathers provide unique and irreplaceable contributions to the raising of children. Children reared in traditional families by a mother and father are happier, healthier, and more successful than children raised in non-traditional environments."[6] Conclusion As we have seen our government has no benefit for legalizing same-sex marriage. The majority of society has declined to accept same-sex marriage. Household that have a same-sex marriage can effect a child's understanding of social norms. By allowing same-sex marriage we will strip the meaning of marriage as it has been known. To end, same-sex couples simply do not have the right to marry. Therefore same-sex marriage should not be legalized. Back to Pro! Sources [1] http://www.clgs.org... [2] http://www.law.cornell.edu... [3] "Same Sex marriage: Should it be legalized?" By Alexander Adams, Sandia Preparatory school [4] Sherif Girgis, Robert P. George, and Ryan T. Anderson, What is Marriage? Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy 34, no. 1 (Winter 2010): 251 [5] http://www.debate.org... [6] http://downloads.frc.org... [7] http://www.bbc.co.uk... [8] http://rahimshinwari.hubpages.com... [9] http://gaymarriage.procon.org...