People should be allowed to marry people of the same sex.

This is my first contested gay marriage debate so I'll be trying some new things. Hopefully my opponent can deal with my antics :)C1. Marriage is a religious institutionMarriage is considered one of the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church [1]. This means that under the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, that laws cannot be made by the state about it. Here is what Cornell University has to say about it-"The First Amendment's Establishment Clause prohibits the government from making any law “respecting an establishment of religion. ” This clause not only forbids the government from establishing an official religion, but also prohibits government actions that unduly favor one religion over another. It also prohibits the government from unduly preferring religion over non-religion, or non-religion over religion. "Armed with this knowledge, we can conclude that the government cannot make laws that infringe upon the Church. C2. The "Slippery Slope"Yeah, I know. Everyone has heard this 20 times in the past week, but that doesn't make it any less valid. If (well it already happened) homosexual marriage is legalized, a precedent is set that marriage is a human right (which I'll get to later), and that the definition of marriage is not concrete, and therefore is up for debate later. Bestiality and polygamy both have very strong followings and if the definition of marriage strays from the religious sacrament that it is, the religious aspect of marriage will be destroyed. The redefinition of religious marriages has more dire consequences than what's on the surface. C3. We have civil unions for a reasonI propose that the expansion of the rights given to couples bound by civil unions is preferable to the legalization of biblical marriage of homosexuals. The biggest problem with marriage inequality was that gays did not get the same tax benefits as married heterosexual couples. With the expansion of the rights given to civil unions, homosexuals can be given the same financial and medical benefits of biblically married straight couples without infringing on the religious sacrament of marriage. C4. Marriage is not a human right"Human rights are afforded to anyone simply by being a human being. In the United States, we recognize these as “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights…” Basically, in America, if you’re born a human, you’re entitled to basic human rights. Why? Because God gave them to you. Not man. " [2]People can't claim marriage at birth. It's a religious contract between two consenting adults. Also, atheistic homosexuals can't claim a right given to them by a God they don't believe exists. Only 27% of homosexual couples qualify as born-again Christians [3]. Also, the Constitution contains no explicit granting of the right to marry [4]. C5. Caving to the homosexual agenda has lead to religious persecutionThe stories are endless. Memories Pizzeria (guilty of nothing)Sweet Cakes by Melissa (must pay $135,000 for refusing to make a lesbian wedding cake [5])Masterpiece Cake shop, ColoradoVictoria’s Cake Cottage, IowaLiberty Ridge Farm, New YorkArlene’s Flowers, WashingtonOcean Grove Camp Meeting Association, New JerseyGortz Haus, IowaWildflower Inn, VermontElane Photography, New MexicoAll Occasion Party Place, TexasAll above businesses have in depth case analyses in source [6]The list is virtually endless. .. C6. Double StandardsThis kind of piggybacks off of Contention 5, but it deserves a segment for itself. Christian bakers can be prosecuted for not catering a gay wedding, but black bakers can refuse to make KKK cakes, gay bakers can refuse Westboro Baptist Church cakes, and even Muslim bakeries often refuse gay wedding cakes without as much negative repercussion as Christians. [7] Dana Loesch says it like this- "There is a witch-hunt now for Christian business owners”In conclusion, it is more preferable to simply expand the rights of couples bound by civil unions than it is to infringe upon the religious institution of biblical marriage. I await Pros argument. Sources1. ) . http://www.baylor.edu...2.) . http://louderwithcrowder.com...3.) . http://www.christianpost.com...4.) Derryck Green, "Marriage Is Not a Right," National Center for Public Policy Research website5. ) . http://www.foxnews.com...6.) . http://www.crisismagazine.com...7.) . http://www.washingtontimes.com...