Gay Marriage

http://www.balancedpolitics.org/same_sex_marriages.htm

I believe marriage is something that commits two people who are madly in love for eternity. I don't believe this needs to be tied to gender, at all. I'm a firm supporter of gay marriage. I know many people who disagree with me, however. They believe marriage is a sacred ceremony that should only be allowed between a man and a woman, the way the bible intended. I can respect this viewpoint.

People who do not support gay marriage often take religion very seriously. They live by the rules of the bible, and the bible says marriage is meant for a man and a woman. These people do not accept the idea that marriage can occur between a man and a man or a woman and a woman because this would weaken the definition and respect for the institution of marriage. Both a man and a woman are needed to pro-create, so marriage should be saved for just a man and a woman. Gay marriage would also confuse children about the gender roles of society, and it would further weaken the traditional family values our society believes to be crucial. Most religions consider homosexuality to be a sin, and they believe the homosexual lifestyle should not be encouraged since statistics show it leads to a much lower life expectancy and psychological disorders. Just because they don't support gay marriage, doesn't mean some of them don't believe gay and lesbian couples deserve to be happy. Some of these people don't have anything against people dating and spending the rest of their life with someone of the same sex. They just don't believe they should be allowed to get married.

I can understand why they feel this way. I, myself, am a fairly religious person. However, I feel that marriage is more about the love two people have for each other, not necessarily the religiousness of the ceremony. If two people are in love, they should be able to get married, in my opinion. Having that label on a relationship is often crucial. I didn't realize how important it was until I was talking to one of my gay friends, and he was explaining that if his boyfriend was in the hospital, he wouldn't be allowed in the emergency room to see him because he isn't legally his spouse by marriage. Not allowing gay and lesbian couples to get married is a form of minority discrimination, and a violation of religious freedom. Civil and religious marriages are two separate institutions, and if there is a separation of church and state, shouldn't they be allowed to get married in a civil ceremony without jeopardizing the religious institution of marriage?

There are a whole range of benefits that gay and lesbian couples cannot receive because they are not allowed to be legally married. I feel this is a tough issue to resolve because people who believe strongly in their faith do not want to budge on the issue, and gay and lesbian couples don't either.