Gays already have equal rights.
Any gay man can marry any unmarried woman he chooses, and no straight man can marry another man.
Civil rights don't extend to preferences.
“Myth #3: Any group of people including homosexual couples can contribute to the well-being of children and form a productive unit of society.”
this is the most grievously damaging myth...it is a simple fact that children do better when they are from stable opposite sex, 2 parent homes. Period. That is the optimum.
I also agree with the article in that, when two men or two women are considered a "married" couple, then the floodgates will open. If there is nothing special about marriage being between one man and one woman, than what is so special about the number two?
Ping.
Myth #1: It doesn’t hurt straights financially.
It’s an insurance scam.
By the same token, the rights of children to as normal as possible of an upbringing ought to trumpt the right of gays to raise children. A turkey baster is not a father.
Bump for later, to send to some liberal friends...
My homosexual cousin wishes to ‘marry’ is longtime boyfriend.
A very small part of me wishes them happiness.
However, whenever I read his face book rantings regarding Religion especially Christianity, I see a seriously confused young man whose extreme hatred of all that is Religious just might be a cry for help and a thin disguise for self hatred regarding his chosen sexuality.
Forgive the imagery, but can two people of the same sex ‘consummate’ a marriage? If you go by the dictionary definition, there is an argument to be made that only a man and a woman can. How long before some lawyer argues that his gay married client is entitled to an annulment on that basis??
Bump
“Indeed, legally creating a union does not enable two men or two women to become one flesh, nor does a legal ceremony give the union sanctity.”
Thought this was the most convincing statement made. The concept of “one flesh” is refering to children from marriage. It is probably the most enriching phenomena associated with marriage - that a loving couple joins together to make “one flesh”. I am always struck by the beauty, intelligence, joy and love everytime I look upon my son. My wife and I will exchange glances and we are both thinking the same thing, how grateful this gift of One Flesh. I am sorry that some are unable to reach this place. There is only one path to this place and it is marriage between a man and a woman. The writer is correct, all else is imitation or counterfit. Not trying to be mean and non-inclusive, just recognizing the obvious that one flesh is the union of a man and a woman.
First myth - that it’s “Marriage”.
Calling it “marriage” doesn’t make it marriage any more than calling a dog’s tail a “leg” makes it a leg.
Excellent essay; I’m saving it in my “position papers” file!
love has nothing to do with marriage under the law
Easy divorce laws have already done that. Marriage has gone from a lifetime commitment to a temporary union that lasts only until something better comes along. And when that time comes then the interests of the children are pretty much tossed out with the rest of the marriage. So I'm sorry, you can't blame same-sex couples for trivializing marriage and making it meaningless. That happened a long time ago.
There is no way one can honestly say that a male-female relationship which would have been recognized in almost every society throughout history is the same as a male-male or female-female relationship which would hardly have been recognized in any. The difference is not a result of governmental or religious edict. It is far more fundamental, and no government edict can change it.
Some of these haves some good points, especially #1, but #5 is B.S. If two gays are exclusive*, they are not going to be getting diseases, and no one has found anything harmful that lesbians do.
* not a given, I know
Men also are protected by marriage. Research has shown that (heterosexually) married men live longer and are happier than single men.