the huge debate over same-sex marriage during this upcoming election race has become exponentially mind-numbing. i don’t really get it… it’s ridiculous something like this has completely blown up into the one of the most important factors influencing this election while basically dividing the entire nation. first of all, can we not get presidential candidates who are not afraid of actually taking a stand for something and stop riding the fence on everything for the sake of not losing votes? we need a strong president… not someone who’s wishy-washy about every decision, which unfortunately the current batch of candidates offer no hope for.
then there’s the whole argument by people opposed to same-sex marriage that it disrupts the supposed “important” society function and benefit of traditional marriage. i’m not sure what this function or benefit is exactly as those who claim it never really reveal any proof that traditional marriage does in fact benefit society nor that it’s some sacred union between a man and a woman. in fact, recently it seems that things are quite the opposite if you look at the divorce rate. currently 11% of the adult population is divorced, and 25% of adults have had at least one divorce in their lifetime (source). it’s also interesting that the same source also reports that “Divorce rates among conservative Christians were significantly higher than for other faith groups, and much higher than Atheists and Agnostics experience.” the legal usage of “marriage” is not a “sacred” institution as it’s merely a legal contract providing legal rights and benefits. i would argue the “sacred” part of marriage people argue over is actually the common religious ceremony, which the homosexual community is NOT fighting for. it’s a fight for the legal contract of marriage… for equal rights.
additionally, some argue that the traditional male/female marriage stabilizes families and produces offspring, which will more likely produce citizens with traditional, stabilizing values over those children raised by same-sex parents. um, yeah not sure what era or fictional existence these people are living in, but the fact that over half of marriages nowadays leads to divorce should tell you there is definitely no longer a stabilizing force… look at what divorce does to families and children. is this still better than if that same child were raised by a same-sex couple who remained together? sadly enough some people still think so. what about the offspring argument… that traditional marriage benefits society because it produces offspring? if that were the case, then apparently these people would have no problem adding a law that only permitted marriages with those couples who seriously intended to have children, and disallowing marriages for those who don’t. this, among the others, are obviously flawed arguments. no one has provided proof that gay marriage has had any negative societal impact in those countries who are open to it such as belgium, canada, netherlands, south africa, and spain. the world never ended.
the root of the problem is not the religious part of marriage as we’ve already gotten through that fight. the problem exists with the state and the way in which the term ‘marriage’ has saturated through law (tax codes, health care, immigration law, inheritance, even hospital visitation). why not just remove the government from the marriage business and simply utilize civil unions for everyone, then reflecting this change across those laws influenced by marriage so that united partners have the same rights and benefits no matter what gender or orientation they are. is that so hard to understand? it’s basically a fight for equality.
as a side note, this article from usatoday discusses how those cities with higher concentrations of gays (san francisco, miami, seattle, atlanta, washington, austin, etc) is an indicator of tolerance and diversity in other social realms such as the level of racial and ethnic integration, which leads to flourishing creative, innovative and entrepreneurial activities. “The key to understanding America’s technological and economic vibrancy lies in our openness to new people and ideas. Tolerance of immigrants, gays and other minorities is much more important to sustained economic growth and the high-paying jobs than the tax cut President Bush has in mind.”