Gay Marriage

Conclusion: Before I begin let me say that I'm sure that the vast majority of homosexuals are not horrible people and that is not what this debate is about. Homosexuals are not being denied the institution of marriage. The problem is that the institution doesn't approve of homosexual behavior and just because an institution will not tolerate your behavior doesn't mean you're outright being denied access to said institution and it's benefits. The institution is not saying that people who experience homosexual desires cannot get married at all. The institution is simply saying that there is a criteria that must be followed because this criteria is what benefits all of society. Answering Objections: Executive Summary 1. Don"t put discrimination in the Constitution! a. Too late"it"s already there. In fact, all laws discriminate! But it"s discrimination against behaviors not persons; and it"s with cause, not arbitrary. For example: i. The First Amendment discriminates against Muslims establishing a religion (a behavior), but it does not discriminate against Muslims as persons. ii. The 13th Amendment discriminates against businessmen taking slaves (a behavior), but not businessmen as persons. b. Likewise, our marriage laws discriminate against the behaviors of homosexuals, polygamists, bigamists, adulterers, and the incestuous among us, but they do not discriminate against them as persons. c. Laws must protect citizens from harmful behaviors regardless of why people commit those behaviors. 2. But homosexuals are a minority class like blacks. a. Homosexuals are not a class of people, and neither are heterosexuals. We are males and females, not homosexuals or heterosexuals. Why classify people by sexual desires? b. You will find many former homosexuals. You will never find a former African-American. c. Committing homosexual acts is not the same as skin color or gender. Homosexual behavior is harmful; skin color or gender is not. And sexual behavior is always chosen (even if the desires are not). d. This issue is not about discriminating against people but against the potentially harmful behaviors of people. And all laws discriminate against behavior (see #1 above) 3. But homosexuals were born that way! a. The source of homosexual desires has not been determined. But even if there is a genetic component (although one wonders how it is passed on), those desires do not excuse behavior. b. An orientation toward homosexuality doesn't make the behavior morally right anymore than an orientation toward violence makes gay bashing morally right. c. We were all born with an orientation toward bad behavior. And desires, whatever their source, do not excuse behavior. Should adults act on every desire they have? Of course not. In fact, the principled restraint of destructive desires is called CIVILIZATION! 4. Weren"t you born a heterosexual? a. No, I was born a male. b. My sexual behavior is chosen just like yours. 5. Opposing same-sex marriage is like opposing inter-racial marriage! a. No, ethnicity is irrelevant to coupling; gender is essential. (There"s only one race-- the human race-- but there are two genders.) b. Opposition to interracial (inter-ethnic) marriage is without merit. Men and women are designed for one another, so interethnic couplings are helpful. But homosexual couplings go against the natural design and are therefore harmful. 6. What about equal rights? a. Homosexuals already have them. Everyone has the same right to form relationships, but no one has a right to have their relationships endorsed by the state. b. Everyone has the same right to marry the opposite sex; homosexuals don"t like their choices and thus want special rights. c. If we grant special rights for homosexuals, on what grounds can we deny special rights for consenting adults who desire other socially destructive or unhealthy relationships such as polygamy or incest? 7. It's unfair discrimination to prevent same-sex marriage. a. No one is being treated unfairly because everyone is playing by the same rules: we all have the same right to marry the opposite sex. b. It is not unfair to define who does and doesn't qualify as a spouse. When the state refuses to recognize a marriage between a father and daughter, it is not discriminating unfairly. It is wisely protecting society by choosing not to sanction an unhealthy and socially destructive relationship. For the same reasons the state should not recognize homosexual relationships. c. Marriage, by design, is between an unrelated man and woman. The state should simply recognize the natural design of marriage; it should not re-define marriage. 8. It"s bigotry to prevent same-sex marriage! a. No, it"s sound judgment based on the evidence that same-sex marriage would be harmful, while traditional marriage is healthy and helpful. b. This argument, like others, presupposes a moral standard. (Homosexual activists acknowledge that bigotry violates the Moral Law" why don"t they admit the same with regard to homosexual behavior?) 9. Why allow traditional marriage but prevent same-sex marriage? a. Because traditional marriage is our national immune system. It protects us from disease and social costs. When our marriages are strong, our society is strong. When our marriages are weak, we all suffer. b. Traditional marriage: i. Improves health and lengthens the life span of the man and the woman. ii. Protects women from uncommitted men. iii. Lowers welfare costs to society. iv. Lowers the crime rate (marriage civilizes men and focuses them on productive pursuits). v. Procreates and encourages an adequate replacement birth rate c. Children from traditional marriage homes are: i. Seven times less likely to live in poverty ii. Six times less likely to commit suicide iii. Less than half as likely to commit crime iv. Less than half as likely to become pregnant out of wedlock v. Healthier physically and emotionally when they reach adulthood vi. Do better academically and socially d. Children from fatherless homes account for: i. 60% of America's rapists ii. 63% of America"s youth suicides iii. 70% of America"s long-term prison inmates iv. 70% of America"s reform school attendees v. 71% of America"s teenage pregnancies vi. 71% of America"s high school dropouts vii. 72% of America"s adolescent murderers viii. 85% of America"s youth prisoners ix. 85% of America"s youth with behavioral disorders x. 90% of America"s runaways e. Same-sex marriage would not benefit, but hurt traditional marriage and society. 10. How could allowing same-sex marriage possibly hurt marriage and society? There is no neutrality on moral issues. By legalizing same-sex marriage, the state would be approving of them and therefore encouraging them. Laws help change attitudes and encourage good (or bad) behavior. In other words, the law is a great teacher. Many people believe that whatever is legal is moral, and whatever is illegal is immoral. Same-sex marriage will: a. Trivialize the importance of marriage, leading to increased Illegitimacy and social costs. i. Elevating homosexual unions to the level of heterosexual marriage would further downgrade the perceived importance of marriage in our culture. Marriage will be seen as just about coupling rather than procreation. ii. This is the case in Norway where same-sex marriage has been in place since the early nineties. Illegitimacy is exploding partly because people no longer connect marriage to childbearing (see # 14 below). iii. Illegitimacy hurts everyone via increased crime and social welfare costs (not to mention the direct harm to children who are denied either a Mom or a Dad). b. Lead to higher medical and health insurance costs. i. We would likely see an increase in homosexual behavior following the endorsement of same-sex marriage like we saw a sharp rise in abortion following Roe v. Wade. ii. There's more (6 more points I wanted to make and point 10 is not finished) but I'm pressed for space so I'll stop here.