gay marriage Essay

Submitted By lunall
Words: 1158
Pages: 5

Pro’ Gay Marriage There are many ways to describe marriage. There are legal definitions, biblical definitions, and personal definitions. Which one is the right definition? The decision of which definition is the right one depends on where you live and what you believe. There are many different types of unions that can be viewed as marriages. Comparing these different relationships gives insight to how relationships are formed and joined. Although marriage is just a civil union in the eyes of the government, it is so much more to the people involved. I feel that there is a rite of passage when forming a marriage. It is not just to form a union so that the government can give you benefits. I believe it is a gift from God when you find that person that makes your life better. Even if a person doesn’t believe in a higher power like Christianity does, a person’s natural instinct is to love and to be loved. It is normal that being loved makes a person feel good and become more secure. A marriage is supposed to have the foundation of love, trust, and forgiveness. I do believe same-sex couples should be able to get married because we live in a democracy, not a theocracy. For people to deny same-sex couples from marrying is discriminating, prejudice, and unreasonable. People who are against gay marriage will try to use the “One man and one woman" argument, (Eric Shepherd) forgetting that marriage was originally and still is a civil union that predates religion for over a thousand years. Marriage has evolved throughout history in today’s society. In ancient Egypt marriage was viewed as a special relationship between two people, one being male and the other female. Their relationship was viewed as a legal establishment. (Murrah) They wrote laws protecting this special relationship. Although there were laws that protected the marriage relationship, those laws were very broad regarding who could be married. The laws allowed people to marry their own brother or sister. It was not just siblings, but one could marry their uncle, aunt, mother, or father. In Babylon, marriage was a relationship set up through a contract. Prospective brides were put up for bidding. When the highest bidder purchased the bride, the marriage contract was written. The Hebrew culture by contrast established a different type of marriage laws. Their laws specified who could and could not be married. They did not allow the marriage of close familial relations. Many in the Hebrew culture viewed marriage in terms of a life-long covenant sealed in blood. The idea of gay marriage is what I would call a recent phenomenon. I say recent because it has only been in the past few years that activists in the country have become extremely vocal about legalizing gay marriage. What got the ball rolling was the first legally gay marriage in the United States, which was performed in San Francisco in 2004 between Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon who are gay rights activists. Since this marriage, as of January 6, 2014 gay marriage has been legalized in 17 states. (Thomas 1) After this first marriage the idea of homosexuals marrying became a trend that swept across the country. Many gay rights activists argue that it is the will and desire of the people in this country to legalize gay marriage. Ironically pro gay marriage legislation has failed to pass in all of the states where it has gone to a vote by the people and by a landslide margin at that. Why is it that so far the overwhelming majority of our country does not approve of having gay marriage legalized? Is it because our country is full of bigoted, gay bashing homophobes? I would not say that this is the case at all. The reason the people of the United States are against legalizing gay marriage is because of the effect it would have on our morals.
One of the primary reasons that the United States has become the most successful country in the world is because of how strong the family situation is and has been since the onset