Gay Marriage Position Paper
Position Paper: Should Gay Marriage be Legalized?
In America, marriage has been traditionally defined as a legally recognized commitment between a man and a woman as their ultimate expression of love. Throughout recent years, homosexual relationships have become more accepted than ever before in our country. “Civil unions,” or ceremonies celebrating the affirmation of same-sex partnerships, have become available to gay and lesbian couples, though they undeniably are not the same thing as marriages. Much national debate has risen over whether gays should be legally allowed to marry rather than be forced to have civil unions. I personally believe that gay marriage should not be legalized because it would undermine the term “marriage,” cause American family values to be compromised, and promote harmful lifestyles. Simply put, marriage is the union between a man and a woman, and it is the most sacred institution in our social system. Under no circumstances is it acceptable in our country for homosexuals to be united by marriage because they don’t even meet this most basic criteria for a marriage. In order to allow gay marriage, the Constitution would have to be amended. This is an extremely difficult thing to do. The amendment would have to be proposed and approved with a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress, which would be highly unlikely, and then ratified by Congress (which has taken up to seven years in the past). Therefore, the passing of the amendment would be a highly improbable, time-consuming idea, and in the likely event that it would not get passed, much Congressional money, time, and effort would have been wasted on it. “The 50 percent divorce rate has already weakened the definition of marriage. We shouldn 't be taking further steps to define what marriage is. A law allowing gay marriage would increase the number of joke or non-serious marriages, such as a couple of friends who want to save on taxes. Marriage is the most sacred
In America, marriage has been traditionally defined as a legally recognized commitment between a man and a woman as their ultimate expression of love. Throughout recent years, homosexual relationships have become more accepted than ever before in our country. “Civil unions,” or ceremonies celebrating the affirmation of same-sex partnerships, have become available to gay and lesbian couples, though they undeniably are not the same thing as marriages. Much national debate has risen over whether gays should be legally allowed to marry rather than be forced to have civil unions. I personally believe that gay marriage should not be legalized because it would undermine the term “marriage,” cause American family values to be compromised, and promote harmful lifestyles. Simply put, marriage is the union between a man and a woman, and it is the most sacred institution in our social system. Under no circumstances is it acceptable in our country for homosexuals to be united by marriage because they don’t even meet this most basic criteria for a marriage. In order to allow gay marriage, the Constitution would have to be amended. This is an extremely difficult thing to do. The amendment would have to be proposed and approved with a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress, which would be highly unlikely, and then ratified by Congress (which has taken up to seven years in the past). Therefore, the passing of the amendment would be a highly improbable, time-consuming idea, and in the likely event that it would not get passed, much Congressional money, time, and effort would have been wasted on it. “The 50 percent divorce rate has already weakened the definition of marriage. We shouldn 't be taking further steps to define what marriage is. A law allowing gay marriage would increase the number of joke or non-serious marriages, such as a couple of friends who want to save on taxes. Marriage is the most sacred
Cited: Gallagher, Maggie, perf. C-Span. 2011. Film. Messerli, Joe. BalancedPolitics.org. 19 Nov. 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2011. Sprigg, Peter. “Questions and Answers: What’s Wrong with Letting Same-Sex Couples ‘Marry’?” The National Review. Jul. 2004: 87. Print.