To Marry or Not to Marry: It Should Not be a Question

Same-Sex Marriage: Equal Opportunities

Some people believe same-sex marriage should be legalized in all fifty states of the United States of America. Denying homosexuals the right to marry one another is like denying them the right to be happy; it is unconstitutional.

Yes, in the Bible it does state that to have sex with another person of the same gender is a disgrace, but it mentions nothing whatsoever about same-sex marriage. Minister Tom Brown of El Paso, Texas says, “I’m not aware of any ancient society allowing same sex marriages, so you won’t find any direct reference to this in your Bible. The issue just did not come up. It hasn’t even come up in our country until recently. The best we can derive from the Bible about same sex marriages is by seeing how the Bible speaks about homosexuality” (Brown).

In Las Vegas there is an average of 315 weddings everyday, that’s thirteen weddings every hour ("Las Vegas Fun Facts"). Of these marriages, at least half of them are performed while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. What does this say about the institution of marriage? That it is something that can be done in the heat of the moment. It will not be homosexuals ruining the institution and definition of marriage. It will be, and is today, the people who marry while they are drunk, the people who marry and then divorce a few months later, the people who marry just for the benefits; these are the people who ruin the institution and definition of marriage.

Family values are defined by Merriam-Webster as “values especially of a traditional or conservative kind which are held to promote the sound functioning of the family and to strengthen the fabric of society” ("Family Values"). People against same-sex marriage say that it confuses children about gender roles and it ruins children’s lives. On the contrary, children who grown up in a home with two mothers or two fathers have grown to be excellent in all studies in school and have a normal social life. In his book, Gay Marriage: Why Is It Good for Gays, Good for Straights, and Good for America, Jonathan Rauch “argues that gay marriage presents an opportunity for policymakers to shore up marriage's embattled status as the living arrangement of choice for couples in serious relationships” ("Can Gay Marriage...").

Allowing same-sex marriage does not provide a steep slippery slope, just as heterosexual marriage does not. A same-sex marriage is just the same as a heterosexual marriage besides that fact that the two who are getting married are the same gender. Just because two homosexuals are getting married, it does not mean that it will lead to bestiality and polygamy. Those incidents already occur around the world, but are not as well shown.

Contrary to what many people believe, homosexual procreation is a rising possibility. An already popular occurrence of homosexual procreation is the use of surrogate mothers for homosexual men and sperm banks for homosexual women. Surrogate mothers are a process of fertilizing a willing woman’s egg with one of the male’s sperm, via artificial insemination, or a mixture of the men’s sperm for equal chance at fatherhood. For a lesbian couple, children can be created by going to a sperm bank and being artificially inseminated with a male donor’s sperm whom they may or may not know.

On the horizon is a medical break-through. Soon male eggs and female sperm will be an available option for homosexual couples wishing for a baby. This break-though will allow for both parents to be the biological parent of the child instead of just one. In order to create female sperm, cells would be extracted from one of the women’s bone marrow or ovaries. Then, a brother/father of the woman would then donate some of his cells so that, through epigenetic resetting, the woman’s cells would change from 47 XX (usual genetic pattern for females) to 47 XXY/ 46 XY (XY being the usual genetic pattern for males). These cells would then be injected into the testicles of a willing male who would then donate his sperm. The opposite female would then obtain that sperm and be artificially inseminated and a baby is conceived, with luck. The same process is used to create male eggs, except instead of being injected into testicles, the cells would be injected into a willing female’s egg and then the opposite male would donate his sperm, thus fertilizing the egg ("Same Sex Procreation”).

The gay lifestyle is something that should be encouraged. Saying that it should not be is just like saying that African American culture should not be encouraged; it is prejudiced. There is nothing wrong with the gay lifestyle. Some say that it is bad because it is all about promiscuity, but in reality it is the opposite. Homosexuals are just as capable as heterosexuals to monogamy.

Mesabi East Social Studies Teacher, Ms. Bridget Rajha, had this to say about her views of same-sex marriage and homosexuals:

“Marriage is a symbol of commitment and faith between two people who love one another. Love is love, regardless of sex. Committing to love one person for the rest of your life, and show that love in a traditional way should not be dictated by the gender of the people involved. Love is love. People are people, and it is the diversity and differences among people that makes us strong. Who a person loves and wishes to marry is a personal choice and should not require approval from anyone else.” She then says, “I know and love may people who are open with their sexual preference. Life-long partners, officially married, dating, looking; gay people are exactly like heterosexual people in their longing for connection, love, belonging, and acceptance in life. My cousin has been happily married to his husband for years. So my experience with homosexuals is the same as heterosexuals, I support the choices of both equally. My religious beliefs place no judgement on people for sexual preference. Instead, my beliefs coincide with support of same-sex marriage because I understand people to desire the same things out of life, to wish to better themselves and the world around them and to reach a higher spirituality; they may be traveling on different roads, but they are heading to the same direction.”