The Case for Gay Marriage, Essay Example

Although marriage historically has been a union of a man and a woman, recently a movement has developed to allow gay unions of two men or two women to be called “marriage.” In this essay, key arguments against gay marriage are considered and refuted.

What are the arguments against gay marriage? These come down mostly to tradition, religion, children, and fear. First is tradition. Opponents to gay marriage say that marriage is by tradition a union of one man with one woman. Second is the religious argument. These opponents claim that gay marriage is wrong because homosexuality is evil and condemned in the Bible. As an example, in Leviticus 18:22 it says homosexual relations are an “abomination” (Bible). Third is the argument that gay marriage makes no sense because such unions cannot bear children. For example, Sam Schulman says that protecting women, the people who have babies, is the only real purpose of marriage. And the fourth argument against gay marriage is marriages like that will somehow destroy the foundations of our society (Schulman).

Consider the first argument. Yes, marriage has traditionally been one man and one woman. But is tradition always important? What about the tradition of slavery? That has been traditional throughout the world for thousands of years. Yet now we see that such a tradition is not something a good society should do. To say we must continue to do what we’ve always done is a cop-out.

But what about the Bible telling us gays are evil? The Old Testament was a document of a society of 3000 years ago. Are we to be limited by what that group of desert shepherds did? There is even dispute of what is meant by abomination. A lot of scholars believe that the word “abomination” in the quoted verse really means worshipping idols not gay relationships (Leitch).

What about children? With today’s science and alternatives such as surrogate moms, adoption, and fertility methods, even a gay partnership can have children. Does having same-sex parents harm those children? Researchers say no.  They say it is more how good parents are and how good a relationship they have with their kids that matters more than whether the parents are of one sex or two.(AACAP).

Finally, what about the fear of homosexual unions destroying society? Is there any truth in that? No. The truth is that almost anything that promotes committed, stable unions of two people supports families rather than destroys them. And family is the basis of our whole society.  Our society is changing constantly to meet the needs of an ever-changing world. So why should marriage not change too?  (Luscombe).

Gay marriage is good for society and good for the couples involved—and their children.

Works Cited

Bible, Leviticus 18:22, King James Version. (1769 version). Retrieved from: http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/book.php?book=Leviticus&chapter=18&verse=22

“Facts for Families: Children with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender parents.” (August 2006). Washington, DC: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP).

Leitch, C. “What does the Bible say about homosexuality?” Christian Bible Reference Site. Retrieved from: http://www.ChristianBibleReference.org/faq_homosexuality.htm

Luscombe, B. “Who needs marriage? A changing Institution.” (November 29, 2010) Time. Retrieved from: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2031962,00.html

Schulman, S. “The worst thing about gay marriage.” (May 22, 2009). The Weekly Standard, 14. Retrieved from: http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/016/533narty.asp