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| Reposted from Hanlon's Razor |
I cannot think of a single reason why we should deny anyone the right to marry another consenting adult. The only justifications I have ever heard for keeping gay marriage illegal have been, when you get down to it, variations on an appeal to religion.
All other arguments I have ever heard on the topic are fallacious, generally utilizing some sort of false dichotomy, slippery slope fallacy, or a general lack of knowledge about what the fuck people are talking about. For wonderfully flippantly answered examples, please see below:
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| I would like to add that homosexuality, according to the current research, is not unnatural. However, some people are still unfortunately convinced that anything that makes them feel squicky is unnatural, hence the retort. |
In my opinion, religions are free to attempt to standardize marriage within their group, but when they start attempting to define marriage for the entire population, we have a problem. If we are going to use marriage as a government-recognized social construct (and I'm not sure that we should, to be honest!) then we cannot allow the definition of marriage to be religious in nature.
As it stands, the United States does not limit marriage to a certain religion's idea of how it should be done -- or, at least, our government pays lip service to this ideal. If you wish to get married, you're not required to do it in a certain church. In fact, you're not required to do it in a church (or other religious institution) at all! Any adult man and any adult woman are permitted to marry in a civil ceremony, provided that they are not married to anyone else, are of sound mind, are consenting... and are a man and a woman. No homos allowed.
You may notice: There is no stipulation that they be fertile. There is no stipulation that they belong to the same faith. There is no stipulation that they not divorce down the line. There is even no stipulation that they be in love.
Why, therefore, does the government restrict the ability of consenting adults to marry? What possible reason could there be?
I'll give you a hint: It starts with "R" and ends with "eligious bias."
I have an older brother that's convinced gay marriage will destroy the U.S. This is funny considering his marriage has suffered from multiple problems. The last time he brought it up I flipped him the bird and blew a raspberry. I figured I'd return his level of maturity seeing as how he wasn't listening to reason anyway.
ReplyDeleteI still cannot wrap my mind around the idea that people have a problem with consenting adults getting married. The very idea that it bothers them boggles my mind and does more to convince me about the problems with religion.
I have a feeling (and maybe I'm being optimistic) that this won't be a problem much longer. Things tend to improve over the decades as far as human rights are concerned. It's just a matter of pushing the issue and keeping up the good fight.
I hope that this is the case, but I have to admit that my outlook is rather pessimistic. Doesn't mean I won't fight for the right, but it's been a long fight already, and I suspect it'll just keep getting longer.
ReplyDeleteAt the core of it, as long as religion has its greedy fingers in the governmental pie, I doubt very seriously that real change will happen in the marriage department.
I've had to get more optimistic as I've gotten older. Mainly for my sanity.
ReplyDeleteI do think things will improve at some point. I just wish society's views on human rights improved at a faster rate. My thinking is that religion is on its way down. That should help speed things up.
I suspect the bigotry stems from the religion. People are brought up in the religion, probably even more than they're brought up in the bigotry, and I'd go out on a limb and say that religion gives an excuse for being a bigot more than being a bigot gives a reason to be religious.
ReplyDeletei truly belive that if your in love with someone it does NOT matter what sex they may be.
ReplyDelete