Gay Marriage: A Not So Holy Matrimony

"...Until death do you part," the last of the "I do" questions asked during marriage creates a morally strong state of matrimony, which may take hard work and tears. The concept of marriage was introduced thousands of years ago in the Bible as "two fleshes becoming one" creating certain standards in our country endorsed by our founding fathers. Since America is viewed as a dominantly Christian country, why would it use some of today's non-Christian concepts like homosexuality to distort marriage? This would create a myriad of contradictions leading to many conflicts. Because marriage's original intent has recently become ignored, an inevitable battle has risen and been in progress for years over whether equal rights and equal protection against discrimination should be extended to homosexuals. This battle eventually expanded into the area of marriage, making it an extremely prevalent issue today. Even in the nation's capital, representatives are finding ways to make this alliance unlawful. This topic has been debated bringing up many valid points, but the fact still remains that homosexual marriages are wrong. We, as a country, should not condone such acts. Since marriage was endorsed in our country from its beginning by our founding fathers for the sole purpose of morally bonding a man and a woman together, gay marriage will only make problems creating a socially unstable environment, shattering biblical family values, and forcing the government to endorse more extreme lifestyles.

First, Homosexuality will undoubtedly create the problem of social instability. Since it has been historically known to stir up emotions and anger against Americans, endorsing gay marriage will make heterosexual union lose meaning. This will certainly make the partners of the heterosexual marriage angry and possibly hostile toward the homosexuals since they both get the same legal rights. In the entertainment industry, the thought of even showing a gay couple on television during its "golden age" was completely absurd. Today, however, sexually explicit homosexuality is available via Internet and television to all of America! Parents all across America are angry having to buy programs or devices to block out these kinds of shows. Many people in this great nation are embarrassed and ashamed to even say that their country supports homosexuality by saying it is a "right." This embarrassment creates tension between gays and heterosexuals which can create more instability in America. Gay rights Activists like Thomas Stoddard say that people who "...believe that same-sex marriage would be 'antifamily' overlook the obvious: Marriage creates families and promotes social stability" (552). Stoddard's statement seems to be an obvious contradiction seeing as homosexual marriages do not create families! The last thing our country needs are contradictions, seeing as they weaken other countries' view of our moral strength and further anger our society. Problem after problem can arise with gays and extremists radically redefining the concept of freedom as the right to do whatever they want. According to Raymond Petit, reporter for The Columbus Dispatch, "If the government would allow gay marriage to have the same status as traditional marriage, it would be a powerful endorsement of the gay lifestyle that would surely affect our culture" (Petit 1). Supporters of homosexual marriages state the unconstitutional value of its restriction as their strongest suit. By admitting homosexual and lesbian relationships to the privileges of the married state, we would devalue this transcendent status and weaken the duties and the sense of obligation it entails. Lisa Schiffren, a speechwriter for former Vice President Dan Quayle says that "A society struggling to recover from thirty years of weakened norms and broken families is not likely to respond gently to having an institution central to most people's lives altered" (555).

Next, endorsing homosexual marriages will shatter family values. Although many factors distinguish America from other countries like independence, democracy, and social stability; the most important factor is its strong morality. Simply put, homosexual marriage would tear apart morality piece by piece and destroy America's families. Families are priceless since they hold they key to our country's future through their children and strong moral examples founded in the Bible. Bringing religious views into gay marriage may seem irrelevant; but let's face it, whether one believes in God or not, America was founded on God and morality. To allow an act such as homosexual marriages to continue, it displays that we have blatant disrespect for our children's future. Banning homosexual marriages will lessen the amount of improper behavior our children see and imitate. They have to raise children of their own someday that need the example of a strong family with strong values based on their country's beliefs. Since people use the argument that religion should not be involved in this issue, they have to understand that it inevitably is since "...the placement of the Ten Commandments in a courthouse and the use of the term Christmas in public schools is viewed as government support of religion" (Petit 1). This means that if one disagrees with what the Bible says about homosexuality to gratify their own selfish desires, their choices can simply be classified as "Un-American." Lisa Schiffren wraps this up by saying that "...the marital union--as distinguished from other sexual