Who opposes gay marriage

Essay by slg4003College, UndergraduateA, April 2004

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The Arguments for and against Gay Marriage

When asked if he would support an amendment to the U.S. constitution to ban gay marriage, President Bush said "Marriage is a sacred institution between a man and a woman. If activist judges insist on redefining marriage by court order, the only alternative will be the constitutional process."(qtd. in USA Today). As Helen of Troy was the face that launched a thousand ships, this quote launched a national debate over the right for gays to marry. I intend to explore why there is so much controversy surrounding this subject and why so many people are against it.

Ask just about anyone. They'll all tell you they're in favor of equal rights for homosexuals. Just name the situation, and ask. They'll all say, yes, gays should have the same rights in housing, jobs, public accommodations, etcetera. But when you get to gay marriage all the equality stops dead cold.'Marriage'

is a powerful word to those who oppose and are for gay marriage. People want to reserve the 'm' word, but at the same time they don't want to discriminate, yet they are discriminating by not wanting them to marry.

The debate over the freedom to marry is about the right to enter into the sate-created institution of civil marriage only. After all, marriage is a civil right and two consenting adults should be allowed to enter into the institution if they so choose. The most fashionable argument against it is that it undermines the institution of marriage (and therefore family and therefore society), but one can not help but think that this is an idea that doesn't really get the true feelings of the advocates; after asking around few people opposing the notion of gay marriage offered that up as the main reason. Most...