Implications of Gay Marriage Upon Society - Essay Example

? 20 April Gay Marriage Gay marriage has been the of immense debate over the past few decades. In the contemporary age, many agencies are promoting ideas in favor of gay marriage in an attempt to get it legalized. In many ways including through theatre, cinema, and commercials, the media is projecting gay marriage as a symbol of enlightenment and moderation. On the other hand, religious scholars are also not backing down on this issue, except they are condemning such proposals. Professor Douglas Allen, who is a Canadian expert on social institutions and lecturer at Simon Fraser University, has this to say on the issue of gay marriage: “The heated rhetoric of the debate tends to be quite remarkable, with stinging words regularly slung from both sides” (Allen 953). This debate has raised many challenges for the federal government. Gay marriage should not be allowed and there must be no constitutional amendments to allow gays and lesbians to obtain legal marriage certificates. Gay marriage is an unnatural way of living because it does not result in the continuation of the human race. If gay marriage is a natural way of living, then gays would be able to make babies from their relationships. Two people living together under a gay marriage contract cannot fulfill each other’s emotional needs, even if they feel physically satisfied by being together. A man needs the love of a woman not only physically, but also psychologically and emotionally. If someone feels that they need to find this in someone of the same gender, then it means that they missed out on something early on in their life. Likewise, a woman needs the love of a man for concerns that go beyond physical satisfaction. A man is incomplete without a woman and vice- versa. More than this, children turn out to be better people if they happen to grow up with both a mother and father. Parents play an important role in the lives of their children because they are supposed to fulfill the role that comes so naturally to them. As gays are not able to produce children, they can never truly experience what it feels like to be a parent. Although some gays choose to adopt a child, this has its own negative implications upon the adopted child, which will be discussed later. Even if they do adopt children, they cane never connect to them in a way that they would have connected to their biological children, owing to the fact that they know they are adopted and are not their own children. Charlotte J. Patterson is a professor at the University of Virginia and is openly lesbian, but even she can admit that “popular stereotypes suggest either that lesbian and gay parents do not exist, or that children suffer irreparable harm if brought up in the households of lesbian or gay parents” (Patterson and Redding 29). From every aspect, the life of a gay is unnatural. Additionally, gay marriage is an unreligious way of living. God has created everything for a purpose. Nothing has been made useless. Likewise, God has provided human beings with a system according to which they should live. Most religions, particularly the Abrahamic religions, condemn the practice of homosexuality. Islam not only forbids gay marriage but also declares severe punishment for the people involved in this act. Religious scriptures provide accounts of God’s fury over nations that have indulged in the practice of homosexuality in the past. Specifically, both the Bible and Quran describe how the People of Lot (P.B.U.H.) were cursed and punished by God Almighty when they did not give up the practice of homosexuality, and this was despite repeated warnings made by the Prophet Lot (P.B.U.H.). Nicole Kligerman, a Refugee Housing Coordinator at Macalaster College, states that “scholars of shari’a, Islamic law, interpret homosexuality to be not merely a sin, but a crime as well” (Kligerman 54). Fundamentally, we derive our norms and values from religion. If there was no religion, we would have had no guidelines to follow and there would be no means to judge whether a certain action was right or wrong. Since religion has prohibited us from indulging in the practice of homosexuality, there is no way that we can justify the act. Legalization of gay marriage is essentially an offense of the religious teachings and a violation of religious principles. Gay marriage is supported in the name of modernity and those who oppose gay marriage, because they practice religion, are said to be conservative and narrow minded. The vast majority of people who speak in favor of gay marriages have begun to talk about religious principles as being man-made. That being said, our fundamental beliefs are being challenged along with our belief in God. Aristides Hatziz, an Associate Professor of Law & Economics and Legal Theory at the University of Athens, comments: “A part of the cost of the voluntary but ‘immoral’ activity spills over onto ‘moral’ people, who are annoyed by the way of life of ‘immoral’ people… Then, the way of life or the acts of some people can be said to offend the majority” (Hatzis 58). This warrants a need to condemn gay marriage at every level. Gay marriage is an unethical way of living. Gays either adopt children or have their own children from a previous straight relationship. They then part ways with their spouse to raise the children under their new gay marriage. Either way, they deprive the child from the love of one or both of his or her biological parents. Every child needs a mother and a father in order to gain a rational understanding of relationships. When two men raise a child, they deprive the child of the concept of a mother. Likewise, when two women raise a child, the child is deprived of the concept of the love of a father. Erin Sutfin, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Social Sciences and Health Policy at Wake Forest School of Medicine, is just one of a group of authors who believe that a child needs both parents’ love to be complete as an individual. Children raised by gays or lesbians cannot be good parents, as they have grown up under an unnatural parenthood that is far away from what normative parenthood is (Sutfin et al.). Sutfin et al. found that the development of children raised by gay parents was influenced by many factors, particularly the attitudes about gender held by the parents in addition to the unconventional sexual orientation of the parents. “[P]arents’ gender role attitudes were significantly associated with children’s gender role attitudes, and this linkage was partially mediated by the gender stereotypicality of children’s physical environments” (Sutfin et al. 509). This suggests that children raised in gay families are likely to develop a similar unconventional perception about gender roles. In addition, no matter how hard gays may try, their choice is a non-normative sexual orientation and is something that would never be acceptable to the vast majority of society. This makes it difficult for children raised by gays to hold their heads high in the air in society. Children from gay families are susceptible to be made fun of by their classmates and peers at school. Nanette Gartrell is an American psychiatrist who has conducted research specifically on lesbian mothers and their children. Along with a group of other like-minded individuals, Gartrell et al. found that children brought up in gay families were subjected to anti-gay criticism by their peers. Gartrell et al. further found that anti-gay remarks given to 10-year old children raised in the gay families made children feel upset, sad and angry about such social encounters. One of the children interviewed by Gartrell et al. shared her experience: “I remember…last year a girl told me my moms were going to hell. I probably turned away and told a teacher. It’s hard to remember [how I felt] – probably sad, definitely annoyed, not at the point of tears” (Gartrell et al. 522). Being the child of a gay person is just as uneasy and uncomfortable to cope with socially as being gay is. Most importantly, children raised by gays might be perfectly straight in their sexual orientation and totally undeserving of the criticism loaded on their shoulders by society. This, and many other factors, makes gay marriage unethical. In conclusion, gay marriage should not be legalized. Gay marriage leads to an unnatural, unreligious and unethical lifestyle that has many negative implications, both upon the children raised in the gay families and the society of which the gay couples form a part of. Gay marriage provides a gay couple with a legal way to commit sin and expose society to different kinds of sociological, psychological and health risks. Works Cited Allen, D. “An economic assessment of same-sex marriage laws.” Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.” Vol. 29. No. 3. pp. 949–980. 2006. Gartrell, N., Deck, A., Rodas, C., Peyser, H. & Banks, A. “The National Lesbian Family Study: 4. Interviews with the 10-year-old children.” American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Vol. 75. No. 4. pp. 518-524. 2005. Hatzis, A. “The Negative Externalities of Immorality: The Case for Same-Sex Marriage.” Skepsis. Vol. 17. No. 1. 2006. Kligerman, N. “Homosexuality in Islam: A Dif?cult Paradox.” Macalester Islam Journal. Vol. 2. No. 3. pp. 52-64. 2007. Patterson, C. J. & Redding, R. E. “Lesbian and gay families with children: Implications of social science research for policy.” Journal of Social Issues. Vol. 52. No. 3. pp. 29-50. 1996. Sutfin, E. L., Fulcher, M., Bowles, R. P. & Patterson, C. J. “How Lesbian and Heterosexual Parents Convey Attitudes about Gender to their Children: The Role of Gendered Environments.” Sex Roles. Vol. 58. pp. 501-513. 2007. Read More