Ethical Controversy: The Ethics Of Gay Marriage

Ethics and Gay Marriage
For many people today the topic of gay marriage creates ethical controversy. When dealing with matters concerning ethics people often have passionate feelings. Simply put, ethics are the concern of what is morally right or wrong. According to the author of the textbook, The Philosophical Journey, “in ethics, we are concerned with what we ought to do, what consequences ought to be achieved, and what sort of persons we ought to become.” (Lawhead 418) It is an issue that sparks protests and public demonstrations in favor of and against. Same sex relationships in Colorado have always been considered to be taboo. Many oppose gay marriage and the rights of homosexuals as evidenced by the state laws pertaining to gay marriage.
Right now in Colorado the population’s religious affiliation breaks down into the following categories: 64% Christian, 2% Jewish, 1% Muslim, 5% other religions and 25% unaffiliated. With this kind of diversity one can easily image the confrontations that could arise while debating the issue. So who is to say what is right and wrong in a community that is derived from numerous races, religions, sexes and orientations. The only truth to be obtained concerning same sex marriage is subjective and is considered conventional ethical relativism. Conventional ethical relativism is “the claim that what is really right or wrong is relative to each particular society.” (Lawhead 427) Each affiliation or group in Colorado would have to act independently of each other. To find an ultimate truth of the matter, all would have to come together and agree on what philosophy will be accepted. This is very unlikely to ever happen because one religion or group would have to submit and acknowledge an enhanced philosophy. Will our local or state governments ever be able to keep everyone happy? The answer is no, there are simply too many individual needs to satisfy in our
I agree with Kant philosophy regarding this matter. The issue of gay marriage is one of morals or ethics. Simply put, gays and lesbians are being discriminated against in Colorado. They are being denied human rights that no other portion of the population is being denied. It is morally wrong to deny any human their rights in a country or state such as ours. Yes, God does command that man should not lay with another man in the same way that man lays with a woman. However, he tells us to love they neighbor as we love ourselves. I believe judgment of those considered to be sinners should be left to God and our duty has human should be in line with Kantian ethics. Love and compassion is what every human in our state deserve. As the community of this state we should simply make available the Holy Scriptures but we cannot make everyone read them and we cannot forsake those who choose to live under a different philosophy than the