Gay marriage should be legal in the United States.

Thank you for starting this debate, Freeman. First, we need a definition for "legal": "Having a formal status derived from law often without a basis in actual fact" [1] My argument will be that government should have no authority over marriage. Now, to address the contentions individually: Contention 1: The Harm Principle The central idea of my dismissal of this contention can be found in my opponent's quote, "Any coherent argument against gay marriage that would leave these people to freely marry would be a masterpiece of political engineering." My argument is against the legalization of both gay marriages and straight marriages, so this entire contention has no purpose. Contention 2: The Utility Factor All things my opponent mentioned here do not even require government, with the exception of one: "[I]t guarantees them the legal protections that other married people enjoy." However, if other married people no longer enjoy these legal protections, gays would no longer have anything to complain about. In fact, nobody would have any complaints about government and marriage whatsoever. A woman could marry a wall [2], and nobody would have any reason to oppose her. Contention 3: Gay marriage bans violate the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. Now, in order to uphold the 14th amendment, we'd have to go further than granting marriage rights to gays. We'd have to grant them to pedophiles, people who wish to marry multiple people [3], people who wish to marry animals, people who wish to marry inanimate objects [2], and people who wish to marry abstract ideas. The simple solution is to have law no longer involved. No more discrimination. Contention 4: Gay marriage bans violate the due process clause of the 14th amendment. See above. Same problems, still gone. Now, for my own contentions against the resolution: Contention 1: It is illegal for marriage to be legal in the United States. Our beloved first amendment [4]: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof..." Marriage was a religious institution before government decided to make laws respecting it [5]. Therefore, we must undo this illegal act by government by repealing all laws formally recognizing marriage of any kind. Contention 2: It is discriminatory for marriage to be legal in the United States. By giving benefits such as tax cuts to those who are married, the government puts those people above those who are not. This is obvious discrimination. By separating government from marriage, this discrimination will automatically vanish. Contention 3: The United States lacks the power to legalize gay marriage. According to the Tenth Amendment [4]: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." The power to legalize gay marriage rests not with the USFG, but with the individual states. As my opponent does not live in every state of the United States, he does not have a say in the governments of most states. Therefore, because the people of a state have decided that gay marriage should not be legal, gay marriage should not be legal in that state. In conclusion, gay marriage should not be legal in the United States, because it would be discriminatory, and it would involve too much government intervention where it is not needed. 1. http://www.merriam-webster.com... 2. http://www.ananova.com... 3. http://www.pro-polygamy.com... 4. http://www.archives.gov... 5. http://en.wikipedia.org...