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The Rainbow Clause:
Giving us the right to choose who; where; when; why; and how.
Why is Gay Marriage Important?
The year 2004 proved to be a heated battlefield
where gay marriage was concerned. Presidential candidates hemmed and hawed
over the subject while California court justices took matters into their
own hands. Caught in the middle were the people for whom gay marriage held
the most significance and opportunity: gays and lesbians themselves.
If you look at the battle over gay marriage,
on the surface it seems to be a battle of morals. Conservatives argue that
gay marriage will undermine the morals of the country and open the way for
polygamy and bestiality. Right before the 2004 Presidential Election and
the passage of Defense of Marriage Acts and anti-gay constitutional amendments
in states across the US, preachers stirred the hearts and minds of their
flock to do their "Christian" duty and protect the nation from the gay scourge.
I worked as an editor for a local newspaper
at this time and can't tell you how many letters to the editor we received
from preachers quoting bible verses condemning homosexuality. It was enough
to make any person sick to their stomach. Politicians were also welcomed
into congregations to speak and lobby for votes. It was a tough time during
which those who argued in favor of gay marriage were prosecuted by hypocrites
claiming to preach love, tolerance and long suffering.
On the opposite end of the battlefield were
those who wanted to get married to make their families more stable and morally
whole for the sake of their children. Remember the Goodrich's who decided
to fight for gay marriage after their young daughter questioned why they
had not married if they were in love?
But far from being a moral issue, gay marriage
is a social issue that is being muddied by religious and political agendas.
Denying gays and lesbians the opportunity to get married not only denies
their rights to express their love and commitment, but also denies them social
securities and benefits taken for granted by the general 'heterosexual' public.
If the religious fervor and pulpit politics would quiet for just a minute,
people would see the unequal treatment for what it is: an attempt to persecute
gays and lesbians without any just cause or evidential reasons to do so.
Legalizing gay marriage poses no ill will toward
society whatsoever. Do you think that property values will go down or social
security will bankrupt if same-sex spouses were allowed to withdraw benefits?
This could hardly be the case. In fact, almost every reason that people give
for denying same-sex marriage can be proven wrong by the fact that gays and
lesbians have been living productively in communities for centuries.
For gay families, though, denying marriage brings
harsh consequences. Imagine not being able to provide health insurance for
your partner if he or she becomes ill and cannot work or losing your children
to the state if your partner dies. The truth is that marriage is more than
just a religious ceremony; it is a social partnership that affords a married
couple hundreds of automatic rights, benefits and responsibilities.
These automatic social rights and benefits are
what keep most heterosexual families intact, healthy and protected during
the rough times. What happens to gay families when the times get tough? The
truth is that many could turn to government assistance to provide health
insurance and support since their partner cannot do so. And what about the
children who end up being put needlessly into the system when there is a
loving parent waiting to care for them? This could end up costing society
much more in the long run, and the cost to individual families could prove
to be staggering.
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