Gay Marriage is Wrong? I think not!

Gay marriage will ruin the sanctity of marriage, it will hurt our children, and it will force our society into a serious regression.

These are the major arguments people have against gay marriage. Are these arguments completely deluded, insensitive, and discriminatory? You better believe it. These arguments, however, are what have prevented homosexuals from receiving equal rights since the beginning of time (or seemingly since homosexuals decided to fight against the system that discriminated against them, which some say began with the Stonewall riots that took place in Greenwich Village in 1969). This civil rights issue has been gearing up in the last few years, as the government’s treatment of homosexuals seems more and more unlawful. In the 21^st century, with the first black president, it would seem likely that this civil rights issue would be moving forward. However, though some states are taking up the issue of same-sex marriage and making the right decisions (like, most recently, Washington D.C.), in reality true progression seems like a false ideal.

The gay rights movement has seen numerous drawbacks in the past few years as the conservative right has built up their coalition and has successfully campaigned to prevent gay marriage from being approved in select states. One of these states was my beautiful (and what I thought to be liberal) California. Proposition 8 was passed in the 2008 election, changing the California Supreme Court’s decision to allow same-sex marriage that occurred just six months earlier. The legality of Proposition 8 is currently being debated in a California Supreme Court case. Theodore Olson and David Boies are the attorneys that have teamed up to fight against marriage discrimination. Both these attorneys have highlighted the exact reasons why I believe denying same-sex marriage is so wrong. No matter what the arguments against gay marriage, I believe that it is actually more harmful to deny gay marriage than it would ever be to allow it. It is more harmful because it is unconstitutional, treats homosexuals like second-class citizens, and prevents society from receiving multiple benefits that could occur if same-sex marriage was allowed.

Fundamental Rights

Fundamental rights are those freedoms that have been provided to us by the U.S. Constitution. As everyone knows that we have been given life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These rights are further protected by numerous amendments. The most notable, and the amendment that I will discus further, is the Fourteenth Amendment. According to an article called “Completing the Constitution: The Fourteenth Amendment and Constitutional Rights,” if we give “proper attention to the context and the structure of the text of the amendment (it) reveals just how the amendment was to ‘complete the Constitution’” (Zuckert, 1). The Fourteenth Amendment essentially was the iron shield given to a knight that already has a sword. It further protects the rights given to us by the Constitution. The amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the united States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States.” The Amendment was enforced in numerous Supreme Court cases, including Brown v. Board in 1954 and Loving v. Virginia in 1967. So, states must strictly adhere to the guidelines set up by the Fourteenth Amendment. However, it seems that some states are given a free pass to disregard the guidelines established by this amendment.

This amendment gave justification for the Supreme Court to say that marriage is a fundamental right and that denying people the right to marry is unconstitutional. This decision occured in Loving v. Virginia in 1967. Virginia had a law that prohibited marriage between two people of different races. Mildred Loving (an Africa-American) and Robert Perry Loving (a Caucasian) lived in Virginia and wanted to marry. They decided to go to Washington D.C. to get married since their marriage would have been deemed illegal in Virginia. When they came back to the state, they were caught and were arrested and then charged for breaching the Virginia miscegenation law. The couple appealed their case, which then moved all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court stated that “marriage is one of the ‘basic civil rights of man,’ fundamental to our very existence and survival” (Wallenstein, 40). The court clearly put immense importance on giving all citizens the right to marry. The court found that the right to marry couldn’t be infringed upon by any state. Any law that prohibits two people’s ability to marry goes directly against the Fourteenth Amendment. Clearly denying people access to this fundamental right is wrong. Yet, 45 of the 50 states are still denying this right to same-sex couples.

The Supreme Court has yet to take up a case establishing whether or not denying same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, and the court will most likely not take up this issue for some time. President Obama, no matter his campaign promise to bring gay rights issues to the forefront of our society, went against the gay community and said that he thinks marriage is between a man and a woman. Therefore, the issue is clearly not going to receive any federal support, no matter its potential unconstitutionality. States are therefore given the ultimate power to decide whether to allow same-sex marriage or not.

As I stated before, only five states have made legislation to allow same-sex marriage. This list includes Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Iowa, and Connecticut. California, for a brief period of time, was a part of this elite. However, the Yes on Proposition 8 campaign successfully made California citizens fear what would happen if same-sex marriage were to be allowed. The Proposition passed in 2008 with 52.5 percent of the vote.

Proving Proposition 8 Wrong

Proposition 8 won based on their ability to scare the public into believing that harmful things would happen to society if same-sex marriage was allowed. The biggest fear that single-handedly pushed Yes on Prop 8 to win the election was the fear that gay marriage was going to be taught in California schools if the proposition didn’t pass. The incident they cited was a school in Massachusetts that started teaching about same-sex marriage, or, as a Yes on 8 ad described, the school taught its students about how “a prince could marry a prince.” This was an isolated incident that happened with one school district in Massachusetts. There was no evidence to suggest that California schools even thoroughly discuss marriage or would be forced to discuss same-sex marriage if Proposition 8 didn’t pass. Research was done after the Yes on Prop 8 campaign brought up this issue. Janie DeArcos, an Assistant Superintendent with the Folsom Cordova Unified School District, said, “There really isn’t any kind of mandate right now to teach marriage, heterosexual or homosexual or whatever kind of marriage or partnership” (O’Mara). The research also showed that individual school districts have their own authority to figure out what curriculum is best for their students. Schools once again are not forced to teach about same-sex marriage or even about marriage in general. So, the ultimate fear that children would be taught about same-sex marriage in schools is false and illegitimate.

How same-sex marriage hurts our children is beyond me. Children, without being taught about same-sex marriage in schools, would most likely hear about same-sex relationships from their peers any way. Even if the schools did teach it, it would garner more understanding and tolerance amongst its students. Nevertheless, this curriculum is not contingent upon a state giving the right to marry to same-sex couples. Same-sex marriage will not harm our children in any way.

The biggest fear against gay marriage is false, yet the proposition was passed any way. A small majority of people subsequently could change California’s constitution forever. Luckily, the legality of the proposition is being questioned in the California Supreme Court. Hopefully, this court will show Californians the damage that is done to homosexuals and society by not opening up marriage to all.

Fighting against Proposition 8

A serious wrong is being committed by states that prevent same-sex couples from marrying. This unequal treatment does serious harm to the psychology of gay couples and treats them as if they are second-class citizens. This is the issue that Olson and Boies are effectively fighting against. According to Olson, “I think there’s something the matter with you if you don’t care enough to feel the suffering that (homosexuals have) been through and if you’re not emotionally upset about the fact that we’re doing an immense amount of harm to people. We’re not treating them like Americans. We’re not treating them like citizens” (Dowd). Olson explained the damage done by preventing same-sex marriage so simply and effectively. There is a clear disparity in treatment that occurs amongst citizens. A great percentage of the country are subjected to second-class citizen status. Homosexuals are not being offered the protection that they should be receiving from their government. Homosexuals are being discriminated against when there really is no reason why they should be treated unequally.

It would seem that since homosexual couples can’t get married that they are significantly different from heterosexual couples. It would seem that the way their relationships function is worse than that of heterosexual relationships. However, a study was done and it showed that there was no difference. In fact, “78 percent of gay couples function better than homosexual couples” (Kurdek, 880). Proposition 8 supporters have called for the “protection of marriage” saying that homosexuals would ruin the union of marriage. The study shows that there is no difference between homosexual couples and heterosexual couples, so there is no basis to the argument that says that homosexuals would harm the union of marriage. The study even shows that homosexuals would probably function better in marriages. I believe that if homosexuals were given the right to marry that they would make the institution of marriage even stronger. Homosexuals are often in loving and committed relationships. There is no reason why this love shouldn’t be recognized by the full protection of California’s government or any other state government.

One Final Argument

Recently, Washington D.C. has legalized same-sex marriages. A Washington Post article explained that the legalization is going to bring a lot of economic benefits to the District. According to the article, “a study by the nonprofit Williams Institute predicted that legalizing same-sex marriage will create 700 jobs and contribute $52.2 million over three years to the local economy” (Mui, 1). Revenue is coming in as numerous gay couples are beginning to plan their now legal weddings. Many Washington D.C. companies have embraced same-sex marriage and are advertising directly to homosexual couples to get their business. These same benefits could be given to California if same-sex marriage was allowed. California is in a major budget crises and this could be a definite way to help the state get out of it. Essentially, denying same-sex marriage is preventing California from receiving major economic benefits.

So, again I state, same-sex marriage needs to be legalized and it needs to be legalized now!

Conclusion

States have been denying fundamental rights to same-sex couples for far too long. This wrong needs to be corrected immediately. As I have stated already, denying same-sex marriage does even worse damage than it would to not allow it. It does damage because it treats homosexuals like second-class citizens and prevents states from receiving economic benefits.

There is essentially no valid argument to suggest that same-sex marriage would do any harm to children or society. In fact, I believe those arguments are false and illegitimate.

So, is gay marriage wrong? I think not, and I hold true to the belief that marriage should most definitely be open to all.

Works Cited

Dowd, Maureen. “An Odd Couple Defends Couples That Some (Oddly) Find Odd.” New York Times 16 Jan. 2010: 1-2. Print.

Kurdek, Lawrence. “Are Gay and Lesbian Cohabiting Couples Really Different from Heterosexual Married Couples?” JSTOR 66.4 (2004): 880-900. Print.

O’Mara, Jenny. “Ads on Prop 8 Focus on Marriage in Schools.” Capital Public Radio[Sacramento] 31 Oct. 2008. Print.

Wallenstein, Peter. “The Right to Marry: Loving V. Virginia.” JSTOR 9.2 (1995): 37-41. Print.

Zuckert, Michael. “Completing the Constitution: The Fourteenth Amendment and The Constitution.” JSTOR 22.2 (1992): 69-91. Print.