In response to Friday’s letter “Americans say gay marriages not OK,” I had to refute the weak arguments that were presented in opposition to gay marriage.
The first point that was brought up is that marriage has always been between a man and a woman, and that definition should never change.
Well, back in the day if you were talking about someone who was voting for a political candidate it was assumed the person voting was a man. God knows what would happen if irrational, overly emotional women were allowed to vote. Now look at what happened.
When we talk about people voting, the definition has changed to include women, and we don’t give it a second thought. The reality is, whether you like it or not, words do change because language isn’t static. Otherwise we would be speaking in Old English.
Now, I have never seen the idea that the traditional family is “outdated” anywhere else. Traditional families will always will be the majority, but there are non-traditional families that can be just as successful. All reputable, professional mental health organizations agree on this. The fact is children raised by gay or lesbian parents are just as well off as those raised by straight parents.
For those who continue to ignore this and go on saying that children absolutely need a mother and father, get back to me when you get republicans to uphold this idea and ban single parents from having children. Besides, if you are going to argue for the sake of tradition, I should remind you that for thousands of years slavery was practiced. I mean, if it was good enough for people back then, why not now? It’s tradition.
People don’t seem to understand that as I am typing this there are a few churches that allow gay and lesbian marriages. Yes, that’s right – marriages. This has been going on for a while, yet none of the opponents of gay marriage have acknowledged this fact. They keep on talking about the end of civilization coming about if we allow gay marriages.
Well, guess what? If you didn’t notice any difference now that’s because there is none. Gay marriages have been occurring in this country and quite a few others – yet the sky has not fallen in any of these places. The only difference will be that the government will treat gay and lesbian couples equally.
The majority of Americans need to realize that regardless of how they want marriage defined, it won’t matter to the government. Well, at least it shouldn’t if it is not constitutional. But as we all know, some want to make it constitutional by enshrining discrimination into the Constitution with an amendment. This would not only ban gay marriage but civil unions as well and any benefits that come from them.
All citizens are supposed to be treated equally under the law. What most Americans think has been shown time and time again to be wrong and unjust. Most Americans thought disaster would strike this country if slavery was abolished, women had equal rights, blacks had equal rights or if interracial marriage was allowed.
Just as chaos did not ensue when groups of people were granted equality – which they should have had in the first place – so too will the non-existent negative effects of gay marriage also go unnoticed.
Keith Morris senior in spanish
