Resolve: The Issue of Homosexuality.

For the sake of organization, I’ll save all my rebuttals for the final round. Round 2: Gay Marriage. Since my opponent asks me to prove why gay marriage is right and incestuous marriage and polygamy are not, I’ll address this first. Incestuous marriage is immoral because procreation leads to birth defects. Polygamous marriages are not encouraged for a social reasons. According to an article by Slate Magazine, history suggest that it [polygamous marriage] is [unhealthy]. They quote, “A new study out of the University of British Columbia documents how societies have systematically evolved away from polygamy because of the social problems it causes. (…) Women are usually thought of as the primary victims of polygynous marriages, but as cultural anthropologist Joe Henrich documents, the institution also causes problems for the young, low-status males denied wives by older, wealthy men who have hoarded all the women. And those young men create problems for everybody. ” [1] The article goes on further to describe, “Polygamy may actually exacerbate inequities in wealth and gender that hurt societies, even if the institution itself appears neutral. Crime and chaos are threatening. Christianity may have brought monogamy to Europe and many other places, but those cultures succeeded because monogamy happened to suit them. In other words, as far as social evolution is concerned, the best form of marriage for a given society isn’t really about what’s moral, but what works. ” [1] So, polygamous and incestuous marriages are literally unhealthy. Now, my opponent will undoubtedly argue that gay marriage is unhealthy because it glorifies homosexual behavior, which leads to AIDS. This assertion is false for two reasons. 1. ) In many cases, homosexual behavior does not lead to AIDS. 2. ) Marriage between two homosexuals makes it less likely for them to spread AIDS, making it healthier for society. Since I’ve addressed my opponents demands, I’ll now provide my own reasoning for why there is no sufficient argument against gay marriage. 1. ) Gay marriage does nothing to harm society. 2. ) Gay marriage actually helps society. 3. ) Denying homosexuals marriage is morally wrong. Point 1: Many people argue against gay marriage because they feel it violates the sanctity of marriage. However, they cannot provide one instance in which it actually harms someone. Gay marriage may be offensive to many, but it’s denial is equally offensive to others, making that argument moot. Since gay marriage does not hinder society in any way, it should not be banned. Point 2: While many will contest that gay marriage does harm to society, there’s little evidence to prove that assertion. HOWEVER, there is plenty of evidence to prove the opposite. Gay marriage is financially beneficial to society. According to gaymarriage. procon. org, “Gay marriages can bring financial gain to federal, state, and local governments and can help boost the economy. Government revenue from marriage comes from marriage licenses, higher income taxes in some circumstances (the so-called "marriage penalty"), and decreases in costs for state benefit programs. ” [1] The site goes onto to address the fact that it’s ban actually causes harm. It states, “Marriage provides both physical and psychological health benefits, and banning gay marriage increases rates of psychological disorders. ” [1] Point 3: The last point in which gay marriage should be accepted is the mere fact that denying us marriage is morally wrong. In a debate I took part in earlier, I stated, “It’s important to understand that anyone who condones any violations of someone’s basic human rights is condoning bigotry. ” Coninuing this theory, we may once again look at gaymarriage. procon. org, which states, “Denying some people the option to marry is discriminatory and creates a second class of citizens. ” [1] 1. . http://gaymarriage.procon.org... Having finished my arguments for gay marriage, I turn the debate over to my opponent!