The legalization of gay marriage - Research Proposal Example

of the of the of the Why the US should Ban Gay Marriages? The issue of legalization of gay marriage has gained momentum since Gay movements have earned advocacy from civil and human rights organizations in the US. They have managed to win legal battles for their rights and as a result, seven states have legalized gay marriages. According to a report by Reuters, on the 2nd of Feb 2012, Washington would become “the seventh state to recognize same-sex matrimony.” (Neroulias) However, there are ample reasons why the US should ban gay marriages. The primary reasons for banning gay marriage in the USA are religious, ethical, and moral. “American freedom... is attached to a set of communal responsibilities and dependant on the individual’s ability to confirm in compliance with a moral, ethical and religious standard.” (Strandby, 4) Thus the freedom of self shall not come in clash with the freedom of America, which comes with a set of responsibilities of individuals towards community. The issue of legalizing gay marriage might be a personal problem faced by many gays living together and seeking some sort of state-sanctioned marriage. The community can no way benefit from their marriage- in fact, it has created a cultural war in America between those that believe in the traditional form of marriage and those that are proponents of gay marriage. People from different social and political backgrounds have mixed views regarding the legalization of gay marriage and they can influence the decision of the courts through ballot campaigns against gay marriages. In Washington this year, a ballot campaign will be held and if the required numbers of votes are gathered, the move would be nullified and gay marriage will be banned in Washington. “There is precedent in California for handling such a situation. Californias Supreme Court legalized gay marriage in 2008, only for voters to approve a constitutional amendment six months later defining marriage as between a man and a woman.” (Neroulias) Such strong reaction by the members of society that came forward to cast their votes against legalization of gay marriage provides a clear answer the question whether US should ban gay marriages or not. The majority of the US society is against the concept of same-sex gay marriage, though they do not oppose cohabitation of gay couples. Perhaps, cohabitation of gay couples is considered as their personal matter; therefore, the society has no objection to it. However, marriage between gay couples poses serious problems for society and it is for this reason that it should be banned by the US government. Different states have different laws pertaining to the civil union of gay that confer special rights and privileges as in marriage. “Various states have created legal unions for same sex couples, however, these are not called marriage and vary in terms of rights and responsibilities and are not recognized by federal law.” (Strandby, 11) The question here arises that why gays and the proponents of gay marriages are keen on legalizing it, when they have legal contracts like civil unions between them? Perhaps, they want to gain the privileges of family laws that are meant for heterosexual families. But the most convincing answer for their goal of attaining the status of matrimony is political. Gay marriage is directly in clash with the traditional form of marriage and if it is legalized, it would pave ways for other unnatural forms of marriages. “...permitting gays to marry would open the door to all sorts of people to demand the right to marry- polygamists, children, friends, kin, even more than two partners...” (Lamanna and Riedmann, 212) Thus, marriage should retain its original meanings to be a bond between man and woman; otherwise there shall be a never ending frenzy of unnatural marriages, if gay marriage is allowed. The gay movement has triggered a cultural war between the traditionalists and the liberals. Walter Berns said: “they [gays] want to change the marriage laws because they want to change the culture... they view themselves as part of counterculture movement [whose purpose] is to undermine the traditional idea of the family.” (Wolfe, 107) In this regard, the Gay movements are trying to mar the traditional face of the society by introducing such concepts that threaten the traditional ways of the societies. Cultural wars are not conducive to healthy societies. Gay movements for legalizing marriage should be banned on moral grounds. It not only confuses the traditional meaning of marriage but also challenges the prevalent system of family life and parenting. As gay marriages are childless, they are bound to adopt children; thus the idea of parenting by same-sex parents is equally confusing in a society where children shall interact with kids of heterosexual parents. “But we have to face the reality that children of gay parents will face challenges that would not have existed had they been children of parents in a traditional marriage.” (Wilson, 171) The cultural war between same-sex marriage and marriage between man and woman shall invite strange reactions from society and negatively affect the social and psychological development of the children, especially those that are adopted by gays. Even today, in many parts of the USA, gay couples have to face serious difficulties in their everyday lives and in obtaining social policies. Their adopted kids shall not only inherit these problems but shall also have to face even greater difficulties regarding inheritance and custody, in case the gay couple splits. Thus legalization of gay marriages is not a solution to their problems but a catalytic process that will create more problems for society and for the kids they adopt. It is therefore clear that the proponents of legalizing gay marriages have short-term personal or political goals to achieve and they have no idea what havoc this cultural war will bring forth. Legalization of gay marriage is simply a political tactic of involving apolitical people in the mainstream politics, and as it does not have a real agenda therefore it should be banned. Thus, the proponents of legalization of gay marriage are actually catering to their own interests rather than the interests of the gays. “Gay rights can be used as an “entry-level issue”, the way abortion was, to motivate apolitical people become involved in politics in ways that more complicated, less visual issues cannot. Gay rights issue provides good fodder for alarmist/shocking fundraising appeals.” (Lippy, 70) Entry-level issues serve the interests of the political parties in involving more people into mainstream politics and help them carry out their political agendas. Activating the passive members of society by creating mock issues such as legalization of gay marriage is great achievement for the political parties. The legalization of gay marriage is a hyped issue just like abortion law that stimulated all levels of society to have a stance. The phenomenon of gay couples living together in the USA is nothing new, but politicizing this issue is creating a lot of controversy and tension in the society. It has caused the society to split on the question of whether to legalize gay marriage in the United States or not. By threatening the traditional form of marriage and family system, this issue has developed into a cultural war. Similar to the abortion law hype, legalizing of gay marriage does not have a strong agenda; it is merely a way to transform the society and its tradition without considering its negative consequences. It is also not a matter of civil or human rights, as gays are allowed to cohabitate everywhere in the USA. Moreover, in a country like USA where there are innumerable ethnic minorities and their pending issues, the issue of gays that are considered a minority on the basis of their sexual orientation hardly seems to be an issue to have created such hype. Work Cited: Wilson, Bruce. Disarming the Culture War: How the Silent Majority Can Break the Stalemate. Lincoln, iuniverse. 2005. Lippy, Charles. Faith in America: Changes, Challenges, New Directions. Vol 1. Westport: Praeger Publishers, 2006. Neroulias, Nicole. “Gay Marriage Foes to Fight Expected Washington State Law”. Reuters. (SEATTLE) 2 Feb 2012. Web. 27 Feb 2012. Wolfe, Christopher. The family, Civil Society, and the State. Maryland: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 1998. Print. Lamanna, Mary Ann., and Agnes Riedmann. Marriages, Families, and Relationships: Making Choices in a Diverse Society. 11 ed. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2012. Electronic version. Strandby, Peter. Fighting Gays; Finding Freedom. The Christian Right Battle Against Same-Sex marriage. Florida: Dissertation.com, 2008. Print. Read More