Spring Break
Gay marriage poses no threat
Emily Groff
Issue date: 2/23/05 Section: Commentary
The past several days have been momentous for gay rights activists. First, Feb. 13 was the one-year anniversary of the first gay marriages in San Francisco.
Sunday, Fox broadcasted an episode of "The Simpsons" featuring gay marriage and England announced the passage of a bill granting "same-sex couples the right to form legally binding partnerships" on Monday.
Although President George W. Bush reiterated his commitment to a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in his State of the Union address, there is a clear difference between the views of the political establishment and popular culture. As America was the last developed country to end slavery and remains one of the last with the death penalty, it appears we will be the last to recognize gay rights.
Opponents of same-sex marriage typically have two objections to granting gay men and lesbian women a right that every heterosexual person has. First, opponents claim "marriage" is a religious institution. They believe that, based on the Bible, God is against homosexuality. Whether or not the Bible actually prohibits homosexuality, or if the Bible is even a direct guide to modern life at all, is a complicated theological discussion. What is clear, however, is that not all religions follow the Bible and those that do interpret it differently.
Whether or not a particular religion chooses to bless marriage between members of the same sex should be up to the leaders of that religion. The state, however, has a greater responsibility to all citizens and it cannot deny rights to a group of people based on such trivial distinctions as race, religion or sexual orientation. Just as it is no longer legal to prohibit interracial marriage, it should not be legal to ban gay unions. Everybody should be allowed to have a civil ceremony regardless of sexuality. We can call all vows exchanged before a religious leader "marriages" and those recited before a justice of the peace "civil unions."
Sunday, Fox broadcasted an episode of "The Simpsons" featuring gay marriage and England announced the passage of a bill granting "same-sex couples the right to form legally binding partnerships" on Monday.
Although President George W. Bush reiterated his commitment to a Constitutional amendment banning gay marriage in his State of the Union address, there is a clear difference between the views of the political establishment and popular culture. As America was the last developed country to end slavery and remains one of the last with the death penalty, it appears we will be the last to recognize gay rights.
Opponents of same-sex marriage typically have two objections to granting gay men and lesbian women a right that every heterosexual person has. First, opponents claim "marriage" is a religious institution. They believe that, based on the Bible, God is against homosexuality. Whether or not the Bible actually prohibits homosexuality, or if the Bible is even a direct guide to modern life at all, is a complicated theological discussion. What is clear, however, is that not all religions follow the Bible and those that do interpret it differently.
Whether or not a particular religion chooses to bless marriage between members of the same sex should be up to the leaders of that religion. The state, however, has a greater responsibility to all citizens and it cannot deny rights to a group of people based on such trivial distinctions as race, religion or sexual orientation. Just as it is no longer legal to prohibit interracial marriage, it should not be legal to ban gay unions. Everybody should be allowed to have a civil ceremony regardless of sexuality. We can call all vows exchanged before a religious leader "marriages" and those recited before a justice of the peace "civil unions."