Debate against Homosexual Marriages - Essay Example

First number The Debate against Homosexual Marriages The debate regarding the union ofhomosexual individuals through marriage continues to raise both in the political and social realms of society. Although there are visions that promote acceptance, the opposition is similarly advocating their own conceptions. Through a detailed analysis surrounding the grounds by which homosexual marriages should not be permitted, an examination of homosexuality and its oppositional arguments will be established by focusing on homosexuality as a sin, weakened traditional family values, and the misrepresentation of marital benefits. Consequently, the idea of free-will and links to contraception will be addressed in refutation to the proponents of gay-marriage. Views on sexual morality have varied greatly over time and by different cultures and religions alike. Different religions have different codes of sexual morality which regulate sexual activity or assign normative values to certain sexually-charged actions or thoughts. The views of religions and religious believers range widely, from holding that sex and the flesh are evil and that many forms of sexual expression should be prohibited and punished, to the belief that sex is the highest expression of the divine and should not be regulated by social mores. Those who oppose gay marriage do so with vehemence because it is not simply that they would rather not see it exist, but rather that they regard LAST NAME, 2 homosexual marriage as a supreme moral and social evil. The religious opposition cannot merely be dismissed as containing no grounds for debate, as it is important to understand the true extension towards their views. Christian groups, for instance, claim that the Bible regards homosexual conduct as sinful. (Sidlow & Henschen, 102) Specifically, there are teachings in the Bible that reflect this notion that surround a comparison between adultery and fornication. First, there is adultery, which in the natural sense is the sexual intercourse of a married person with someone other than his or her own spouse. It is condemned in both the Old and New Testaments. (Exodus 20:14; I Cor. 6:9, 10) Secondly, there is fornication, which is the illicit sex acts of unmarried persons, which is likewise forbidden. (I Corinthians 5:1; 6:13, 18; Ephesians 5:3) The difference between adultery and fornication is the aspect of being married. Thus, both sexual acts in marriage, or not, are considered forbidden due to their promiscuous nature, which is directly associated to homosexuality because it's sexual acts, in marriage or not, is still a sin. Moreover, homosexuality is directly referred to by the Apostle Paul, who declares that homosexuals: "shall not inherit the kingdom of God", (I Corinthians 6:9; 10) Also, homosexuality is an illicit lust forbidden by God, as he said to His people of Israel: "Thou shall not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them". (Leviticus 18:22) Moral sin is produced by the rebellion against God and since homosexuality and its acts are viewed as an "abomination", then through Christian LAST NAME, 3 religious values, it is a sin and therefore should not be permitted as a sacrament of marriage. Like Christian religions, Muslims also teach that marriage is a sanction between a male and a female. One of the principles of Islamic Jurisprudence says that: "The default state of all things is lawfulness until some evidence shows otherwise." (Syed, Web/Online) Relations between men and women do not follow this general principle and in fact are opposite to it. The principle is that: "Relations between men and women are forbidden until some evidence shows otherwise." (Syed, Web/Online) Since homosexuals are unable to procreate, Muslims continue to reject its validity as a marriage and therefore the idea of male and female relations being forbidden is evidently shown otherwise by the idea of procreation. One of the most important purposes of marriage is to continue and increase the population of the Muslims. Clearly, this goal could be achieved without marriage, but when actions are undertaken in disobedience to Allah, they do not receive the blessing of Allah and the whole society is corrupted. The Prophet said: "Marry, for I will outnumber the other nations by you on Qiyama." (Syed, Web/Online) It is not simply the views of Christianity or Muslim that find textual evidence to support their opposition to homosexual marriage; it is also the social context of tradition that comes into place. Traditionally, family values have been oriented towards procreation and the emotional support between biologically related family units. As a result of changing definitions surrounding marriage, the arrangement does not suit traditional family values. LAST NAME, 4 Similarly, because marriage is an arrangement built around female sexuality, because the institution has to do with women far more than it has to do with men, women will be the victims of its destruction. (White, 291) The success of gay-liberation will result in the woman having something taken away from them-their ability to procreate; their freedom; and essentially their birth right to be mothers. (White, 291) In a gay marriage, one of two men or women must take on the social role of the female. There is an emotional gap that may become present, in that men rarely feel incomplete or unprotected in a sexual relationship that "has not been solemnized by marriage". (White, 291) In a female to female relationship, accordingly, one of the females must take on the social 'role' of the male; thus suppressing the female's natural ability to be compassionate, nurturing, and mother-like. The reversal of 'roles' confuses society's traditional values surrounding the family and coincidently confusing children alike. Various analysts have focused on how children would suffer through the legalization of gay marriages and they are "undoubtedly correct" in that a child will suffer the knowledge of understanding both male and female roles in society. (White, 291) More specifically, a female child growing up in a homosexual male marriage by means of adoption would have less understanding of her female body parts and would most likely rely on her friends as a source of information. Through this, the family role is broken, as the need for outsiders becomes stronger than the need for family. Furthermore, there is a misrepresentation of marital benefits that may be encountered through homosexual marriages. For example, tax benefits that a heterosexual married couple receives would now be able to be received by homosexual LAST NAME, 5 married couples. However, tax benefits were originally made to subsidize married couples for their efforts to procreate and contribute to society by the government. The benefits received by homosexual couples in a marriage do not meet the same considerations as they once used to. There is a possibility of homosexual individuals coming together as a union in a fraudulent effort to receive these such benefits, which will cause extra burden to society as a whole. Ideas surrounding activists of homosexual marriages must also be recognized and refuted in order to maintain a strengthened and purposeful link in defense of such unions. Ideas surrounding free-will as a human right and the political need to recognize individual rights will be discussed as well as the idea of contraception as a changing role of why marriage does not only reflect the need to procreate. Proponents of gay marriage would promote the idea of free-will and they would suggest that a willingness to reach normative evaluations about the good of long-term commitment and mutuality in human relationships must be accompanied by a "deep respect for personal autonomy and a recognition that it is ultimately up to individuals to decide how they want to structure and conduct their intimate lives." (Ball, 116) Although this view coincides with the idea of free-will in the area of political thought, it must also be stated that even though the idea that "the state should promote loyalty, stability and reciprocity in human relationships" is not consistent with the idea that individuals are best judges of what is appropriate for their lives. (Ball, 116) Although same sex marriages are the targets of oppressive sexual mores, the idea of minority discrimination is the defense of many individuals in favor of it. The idea suggests that LAST NAME, 6 political units must recognize different kinds of relationships, even those that are not marital, such as domestic partnerships, reciprocal beneficiaries, and civil unions. (Ball, 116) The ideas reflects that when political communities have taken the debate over same sex marriages seriously, the result has not been to continue dividing the population into two distinct categories (the married and the unmarried), but has been instead to recognize new kinds of relationships with varying degrees of rights and responsibilities. (Ball, 116) However, the argument lies not in discrimination that these activists propose, but in where to draw the line of recognition. If same-sex marriages are recognized, then bigamous, polygamous, incestuous marriages and marriages with animals must be recognized also. Even though proponents of same-sex marriage may suggest that this argument has no merit at all because there are plenty of reasons for rejecting these other types of marriage that don't apply to same-sex marriages, such as how polygamous marriages exploit women; incestuous marriages risk producing children with damaged health; and giving incest a seal of approval weakens a taboo that is vital for preserving the family as a safe place for children, the idea still rests at when to draw the line between such unions. (www.bbc.co.uk Web/Online) Similarly, proponents of gay marriage could suggest that procreation is not what sustains a marriage and is not what singly concerns a woman. The argument would surround ideas of contraception and how the decision to marry no longer precedes sexual intercourse as commonly or traditionally as it used to. (White, 290) A woman can control who is the father of her children through the law and marriage is a choice that women can make. However, the idea here similarly diminishes the value of family, as LAST NAME, 7 contraception hold the control over love. Likewise, homosexual marriages cannot be based on contraception, it can only be based on love; however love between two men or two women cannot create a child. Children are the most important addition to a family unit and the idea of marriage must always surround the goals of maintaining a strong family unit or else society will become corrupt. For James White, author of Contemporary Moral Problems, he states that: "the truth is banal, circular, but finally unavoidable: by definition, the essence of marriage is to sanction and solemnize that connection of opposites which alone creates new life." (White, 290) Similarly, marriage is societies attempt to reconcile and harmonize the "erotic, social, sexual, and financial needs of men and women with the needs of their partner and their children." (White, 289) Without the tradition of family values instilled by marriage it is merely a contract, a vessel with no particular content. There is no fundamental importance without these meanings shared by the public concerning marriage. Human relationships are by nature difficult and this is why communities must do all they can to strengthen and not weaken those institutions that keep us together. Homosexual marriages weaken the institution of marriage, as it can only exist in contract, not in familial unity. Marriage is what connects us with our nature and with our animal origins, with how all of us, heterosexual and homosexual alike, come to be. Conservative views of sexuality narrow the range of permissible sexual practices, thereby condemning virtually all sex except that which leads to procreation within marriage. In this view, the source of prohibition is generally a religious one, often associated with the Judeo-Christinan tradition. Virtually all aspects of marriage lead to the idea of procreation and its role as a LAST NAME, 8 traditional family unit. However, homosexual unions do not serve this purpose or meet the needs of society to fulfill this role. It is important to however recognize the activists approach to such negations, as understanding both sides of the argument open the gates of acceptance and, or tolerance to some degree. Although proponents argue around free-will and contraception, the notion of tradition is still an important factor to consider, as it has created roles in society and nurtured growth both mentally and spiritually. Through an analysis of why homosexual marriages should not be permitted, it is evident that ideas surrounding religion, tradition and the misrepresentation of marital benefits call for a strong approach. LAST NAME, 9 Works Cited American Bible Society. Good News Bible With Deuterocanonical and Apocryphal Books. United States: United States Bible Societies, 1976. Ball, Carlos A. The Morality of Gay Rights: An Exploration in Political Philosophy. New York: Routledge, 2003. p. 116 Black, Jeremy. Marriage and Same-Sex Unions: A Debate. United States: Praeger/Greenwood, 2003. Blumenfeld, Warren and Diane Raymond. Looking At Gay and Lesbian Life. United States: Beacon Press, 2001. Sidlow, Edward and Beth Henschen. America At Odds. California, U.S.A.: Thomas Wadsworth, 2005. p.102 Syed, Ibrahim. Same Sex Marriage and Marriage In Islam. (Web/Online) Accessed March 2006: http://www.irfi.org/articles/articles_151_200/same_sex_marriage_and_marriage_i.htm White, James. Contemporary Moral Problems. California, U.S.A.: Thomas Wadsworth, 2005. p.291 From the WWW: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/ethics/samesexmarriage/against.shtml http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_essa.htm http://www.balancedpolitics.org/same_sex_marriages.htm#no Read More