Summary of reading - Essay Example

Whereas traditional marriage gets support from majority of the people, whether other forms like Gay and Homosexual marriages deserve discrimination and should be deprived of their fundamental right to marry and beget children as per the procedure they choose? Dent, though a strong supporter of the traditional marriage acknowledges their fundamental right and freedom to choose their life-partner and above all the freedom to love the individual of their choice. If one is to summarize the article in a few sentences, this is an important observation by George Dent.

He argues, “If the government treats traditional marriage as the norm, citizens are also more likely to view it that way than they would if government treats traditional marriage as but one of many equally valid choices" (p. 421). Deviation from the joint family and nuclear family has socially turned out to be disastrous all over the world, particularly in America. That the divorce rate has crossed 50% is the grim indication and the worst scenario that has engulfed the American society. At the same time, there is a section of the society and the leadership that favors gay marriages.

Historically the same sex marriages have been resented and they think it is a "caricature of the real thing.an insult to a relationship that they consider to have a sacred as well as a legal dimension" (p. 425). What is the ground reality related to such marriages? Homosexual couples will not be able to procreate, and they cannot have the marriage ceremonies performed as per cultural and traditional standards, it is at the most a social or a club event. With no emotional commitment, the agenda behind such marriages is to get some financial benefits.

But the paradox is they can have the benefits through other fair alternatives. One of the prime objectives of the institution of marriage is to beget children. That is not possible for the homosexual