Gay rights.

I have accepted this debate as the Con. Even though I believe in equal right's for Gay men and women I will try to argue from the stand point of those who are completely opposed to Gay right's. The Pro has been a bit ambiguous with her premise for ths argument. So I will assume that what the opponent is trying to argue is that. I would like to point out to the voter's that this is my first time argueing a viewpoint that is not my own, so don't chastise me because you think I'm a bigot. 1/Homosexual couple's should have the same right's as heterosexual couple's. 2/Homosexual couple should have the right to adopt children. 3/Christianity does not view homosexuality as a sin. Before I begin, I would like to wish the Pro good luck, and hopefully we will have an interesting debate over what can be a very controversial, taboo of a subject. If my opponent wishes to expand on her argument, maybe covering a point I missed out on, I will gladly address that in round two of this debate. ____________________________________________________________________________ 1/ Homosexual couple's should have the same right's as Heterosexual couple's. Ask nearly anyone, and they will tell you that they are in support of gay right's and equal opportunities for homosexual's in government office, job's, equal government protection, housing and access to government benefit's, but when the issue of gay marriage arise's, the majority of those who were in favour of gay right's, are opposed to it. Statistic's show that around 70% of people are in support of equal rights for homosexual's, yet around the same portion are against Gay marriage. That is when the talk of equality stop's dead in it's track's. General stereotype's have a lot to answer for here. The stereotype has it that gays are promiscuous, unable to form lasting relationships, and the relationships that do form are shallow and uncommitted. But the important fact to note is that just like in straight society, where such relationships also exist, they are a small minority, and exist primarily among the very young. Indeed, one of the most frequent complaints of older gay men is that it is almost impossible to find quality single men to get into a relationship with, because they're already all 'taken!' Many of the reasons offered for opposing gay marriage are based on the assumption that gays have a choice in who they can feel attracted to, and the reality is quite different. Many people actually believe that gays could simply choose to be heterosexual if they wished. But the reality is that very few do have a choice -- any more than very few heterosexuals could choose which sex to find themselves attracted to. Marriage is an institution between one man and one woman. It is, in my view, a religious joining of two soul' s who wish to live the rest of their live's together under God. I find it hard to understand why a homosexual couple would want to be married under the church, considering that Christianity is doctrinally opposed to gay people. I will address the religious issue's on homosexuality in my third argument. If gay people really want to get married, all they have to do is to become straight and marry someone of the opposite sex. Another argument against's gay marriage, is that ultimately, marriage is for pro-creation, where I loving father and mother can bring up their children in the best possible way, so that they will grow up to be strong, independant individual's. If you remove the mother/father role from a child's development, there could be certain ramification's because of them growing up in an abnormal environment. Studies have shown that a lack of a true father or mother figure are as follow's. "The possible detrimental effects of father absence on his children include drug involvement, increased delinquency, and gang activity, which in turn pose problems for society. Studies have shown disruptions in family structure, such as father absence, may increase the chances the child will begin using drugs and alcohol (Albrecht & Amey, pp. 283-289; Gil, Vega, & Biafora, pp. 373-393;)" "A study of women living in Islington has confirmed earlier findings that the loss of a mother before the age of 17 (by death or separation) is associated with an increase in clinical depression in adulthood. Lack of adequate parental care following the loss accounted for the increase in disorder and there was some evidence that it acted as a ‘vulnerability factor' increasing risk of onset of depression during a 1-year follow-up period, in the presence of a severe life event or major difficulty. Premarital pregnancy, marital separation/divorce and negative evaluation of self were identified as factors intervening between childhood lack of care and adult depression." http://www.sciencedirect.com... Another argument against homosexual marriage is that, Marriages are for ensuring the continuation of the species. We all know as animal's, our species number one concern is the continuation of the species. We also know that homosexual couple's cannot pro-create, therefore it is not beneficial for us as a species to allow homosexual marriage. By then having a child in this environment, there is a high chance that it too will also turn out homosexual, as we all can agree that we are all heavily influenced by our parent's. This could lead to a large increase in homosexuality, which could prove a problem for human's as a whole. Yes I know this one sound's a bit out there but, it's a possibility. Another argument against homosexual mariage is that same-sex marriage would start us down a "slippery slope" towards legalized incest, bestial marriage, polygamy and all manner of other horrible consequences. We know that once you give one concession you must make another, if you are vested in equal right' for all. Where do you draw the line? Wouldn't the same argument for Gay marriage be applicable to polygamy and bestial marriage? I know I would have alway's loved a Chimpanzee for father. I will pretend to be serious on this point. An argument against homosexual marriage, is that marriage is a religious thing, and if legalized, churches will be forced to grant marriage's against their will. And since most religion's are opposed to homosexuality, this would be infringing on that religion's view's and ideal's dictated by their God/God's. Homosexuality is unnatural. By legalizing gay marriage, you are advocating that homosexuality is something normal and natural, yet, as we have already discussed, it is hard to believe that it s natural when the ultimate goal is to pro-create and insure the continuation of the species. ______________________________________________________________________________________ 2/Homosexual couple's should be allowed to adopt children. I believe that homosexual couple's should not be allowed to adopt children, because ultimately it is not in the best interest's of the children. The reason why I believe this is that it will put an enormous amount of stress on the child as it grow's up. Whether it be from other children, adult's or from their own thought's on the situation. I also believe that without a stable mother and father figure, a child will exibit abnormal behavior's as it grow's up and will ultimately affect who they are as an adult. As studies have shown in heterosexual relationship's where the mother or father is absent, we find that children are more likely to start drinking at a younger age, take drug's and show increased ani-social behavior. http://www.catholiceducation.org... http://www.freerepublic.com... Cont.Rnd 2