Banning gay marriage is simply unethical, unfair, unconstitutional, and wrong. Yet, a majority of Americans oppose gay marriage. Why? Many cite a belief that gay marriage will degrade heterosexual marriage. How? Will it make heterosexual couples love each other less? Others claim allowing gay marriage would lead to the legalization of incest, bestiality, and polygamy. This very same argument was used to support a ban on interracial marriage in the ‘60s, and I haven’t noticed a legalization of bestiality over the past few decades. Still others claim that thousands of years of human history have taught us that homosexuality is unnatural and a sin, but there have been dozens of cases of societies accepting and even embracing homosexuality, societies from China to Greece to Native America. Some opponents claim that homosexual marriages are unstable environments not fit to raise children. However, Massachusetts, a state in which gay marriage is legal, has the lowest divorce rate among all states and research has been done that suggests children raised within homosexual relationships are just as psychologically stable as those raised in heterosexual families.
Thus, the real agenda of those opposed to gay marriage is revealed: bigotry, homophobia and religious beliefs. This is a slap in the face of the constitution, our government and civil rights. Our Constitution and Republican government were set up to prevent the tyranny of a malevolent majority and protect the rights of minorities. This was upheld in the Supreme Court case of Brown v. Board of Education, which struck down the idea of “separate but equal” used to suppress African Americans. Yet this idea is being used today to prevent gay couples from marrying, which is a blatant example of separate but not equal. The controversy boils down to one thing, a deterioration of the separation of church and state. People are letting their religious affiliation affect their decision making, and letting their religion seep into our government. What happened to “do unto others as you would have them do unto you?”
So, what repercussions would gay marriage have? It would lead to widespread happiness, contentment and equality. It would further the basic beliefs of liberty and egalitarianism written into our Constitution. Gay marriage would harm no one. It would not lead to the downfall of western civilization. It would not make straight couples love each other less. It would not trigger the apocalypse. It would merely bring happiness to thousands of people, an idea that I believe our society should embrace more often.
