Same-Sex Marriage: The Controversy

Same-sex marriage is controversial and hotly debated in the world of today. For centuries it has been perceived as being the matrimony between a man and a woman, and has been considered unnatural for a man to be attracted to another man, or a woman to be attracted to another woman in a sexual or loving manner. However, such has been going on for ages. It has always been controversial, and though people are learning to be more tolerant if not accepting of it today, the issue of marriage still arises as an ongoing issue.

Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Over time marriage has been ever growing and changing, yet the definition has always remained the same. "Marriage is a socially-recognized union between or among partners forming a family, legitimizing sexual relations between the partners and providing the context for legitimate production of offspring" (Bidstrup). Many different cultures share recognition of this bond.

Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Marriage's role in society has always been very important- it is an important link in the chain which keeps our families and bloodlines growing, and essentially our world evolving (Bidstrup).Ð' Ð' Marriage was not always recognized as monogamous, but rather in many societies used to be polygamous. In polygamous marriage, a man would marry many women and thus have many children. Since then however, marriage has come to be known as strictly monogamous, and in some countries polygamy is illegal (Homosexuality: The Facts). In addition to polygamy, there used to be a time in American society when interracial marriage was illegal and seen as taboo. This lasted for over 20 years between the 1940s through 1960s, and was finally abolished along with many other civil rights restrictions when the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed (Homosexuality: The Facts).

Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Arguments against same-sex marriage also include again, how many people believe same sex couples aren't "the optimum environment in which to raise children" (Bidstrup). Ironically, society overlooks the blatant fact that criminals, and even child molesters are allowed to marry and procreate if they so wish to (Homosexuality: The Facts). No one seems to take notice of this of those who argue against same-sex parents. Even in heterosexual relationships, parenting is not perfect especially more so in cases like the aforementioned. Why do critics turn their nose up at same-sex couples more so than they do towards these all too common cases?

Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' It has been scientifically proven that children raised in gay or lesbian households can turn out just as well as those of heterosexual couples (Schneider 2). What makes the difference is the way the children are parented, not the gender or sexual orientation of their parents. A parent is capable of being just as loving of their child regardless the rather small details about sexual orientation.

Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Another very common, if not the most common argument against the gay community is that their relationships are "immoral". The passages from the Bible most commonly cited when this is addressed are Genesis 19:5, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, wherein they prescribe the death penalty for male homosexual contact. Romans 1:24-27 also elaborates more so on this (The Holy Bible).

Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' Ð' The story of Sodom and Gomorrah is also used to prove that homosexuality is wrong. In this story, a man named Lot invites two visitors to stay in his home - who are actually angels). All the men of Sodom - which is a city that is known to be wicked like its neighbor Gomorrah - gather around Lot’s house demanding to get to “know” the visitors. Lot declines their requests and offers his two daughters instead. When the men of Sodom refuse this offer, the two angels blind the crowd. The next morning, Lot is able to escape with his family and the angels, while God destroys the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah (The Holy Bible). Many Christians interpret the phrase “get to know” as have sex with the two male strangers in Lot’s house. They then believe that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed for the sin of homosexuality.

It also should be remembered that the Bible was firstÐ' written in Hebrew and Aramaic (Schneider 3). What the text originally meant could have been interpreted incorrectly when it was translated. For instance, in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, many biblical scholars believe that the two cities were destroyed for the sin of inhospitality, not homosexuality. Professor Robert J. Schneider of Berea College points out the importance of the hospitality law, writing “...in ancient societies, once you traveled beyond the borders of your city or tribal territory” you were “subject to the arbitrary power and potential harm of another tribe or people” (Schneider 3). People were only safe if others “understand that their own God put the stranger under his protection” and “honored this as a sacred obligation, the violation of which would incur divine punishment” (Schneider 3).

Essayist Rictor Norton on the history of homophobia, writes that because Lot was a resident alien in Sodom “he did not have the right to open his house to foreigners” (Norton 2). However, when the men of Sodom demanded to see the visitors, Lot had to refuse because he “was under the obligations of the Jewish code of hospitality” (Norton, 2). Also the original term “yadha” or “to know”, is only used 10 times in the Old Testament as a sexual act (Norton 2). The rest of the 924 times it is used is in the context of “getting acquainted with” a person (Norton 2). So it is unlikely that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah even had anything to do with sex. Even if it did, it would be in the context of violent rape and abuse which would obviously be a huge sin of inhospitality, not the “sin” of consenting homosexual intercourse (Homosexuality: The Facts). The whole story is a moral one, about how everyone must be treated with hospitality.

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