Nicole Lund
ENGL 1010 M-W 2:30-3:45
Dr. Ashley Argyle
11 November 2011
Same-sex marital rights?
There are a few different sides or views to this issue. Three of which I will be discussing;
first is the religious side the against view, second is the gay community and equal rights activists,
the supporting view of gay marriage. The last I will discuss are the people who aren’t aware of
the issue or may not really have an opinion either way. I will be discussing the
historical/traditional view point, the civil rights view point and the diversity view point from
these different sides. I will be sharing the opinions and comments from these sides on the matter.
On the opposing side of gay marriage there is an individual named Lehman Strauss, this
persons believe is that: “Homosexuality is an illicit lust forbidden by God. He said to His people
Israel, ‘Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination’ (Leviticus
18:22). ‘If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed
an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them’ (Leviticus
20:13). In these passages homosexuality is condemned as a prime example of sin, a sexual
perversion. The Christian can neither alter God's viewpoint nor depart from it”(Strauss). A lot of
religious viewpoints about homosexuals is that they are “sexual perverts” “abnormal”
“unnatural” evil and “a threat to the youth” (Strauss). A lot people think that homosexuals are
pedophiles and that the only thing they want is to corrupt young kids. People say that same-sex
marriage is not a correct use of words because in the Bible it describes marriage as a divine
permanent union between one man and one woman for only one purpose, procreating. Religions
believe that it is their civil right to fight against same-sex marriage and believe that it, again is
their civil right to not have to expose themselves or their family to such an evil as homosexuality.
There was a man, a leader in San Francisco that stated “important for the next generation to
understand the historical importance of marriage. It's important our children won't grow up to
fantasize or think … 'should I marry Jane or John?” this man is an example of discrimination that
homosexuals have to deal with every day (Farrell).
It is a constitutional right to marry the person one loves, to deny that right is to deny the
right of the pursuit of happiness. Same-sex marriage is no different. There are only a handful of
states that allow same-sex marriage, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire,
Canada and New England. “Opposite-sex couples don’t have to worry about what their rights
will be if they relocate to another state, or how laws might change in the future. Instead, they can
make their decisions about marriage based upon the organic development of their relationship-at
the time and place that makes most sense to them alone” (Hertz, 231). It is apparent that
homosexuals now suffer the same marital laws that prohibited interracial marriages in the
1950’s. Same-sex couples have hope that one day their rights will be recognized just like those
individuals in the 1950’s who were finally granted their rights to be able to marry who they
loved. Homosexuals are people too, and deserve the same basic civil rights every other American
is entitled to. Homosexuals need to “Win more states” (Road Map To Victory) and “Grow The
Majority For Marriage” (Road Map To Victory, Web) and make people aware of the issue in
order for homosexuals to one day be treated as equals. Not all religious people are against samesex marriage, there are even whole religious organizations such as, “The Universal Fellowship of
Metropolitan Community Churches,Ecumenical Catholic Church, Church of God
Anonymous, ALEPH: Alliance for Jewish Renewal, Reconstructionist Judaism, Reform
Judaism, and Unitarian Universalist Association bless same-gender relationships as a matter of
policy” (Religious Support For Equal Marriage Rights). This is proof to the gay community and
all of the supporters that hope, faith and every ones’ hard work are gradually paying off.
There are still people out there that don’t realize the issues that same-sex couples have to
live with every day. There was actually a study conducted by the University of Houston-Clear
Lak. “Although most research investigating diversity courses focuses on attitudes toward racial
minorities and women, these courses may also influence student attitudes toward lesbians and
gay men. The current study assessed student awareness of heterosexual privilege, prejudice
against lesbians and gay men, and support for same-sex marriage. Students (N = 143) in a
general diversity course completed identical surveys during the first and last weeks of the
semester. Participants in diversity courses exhibited increased heterosexual privilege awareness
and support for same-sex marriage, as well as less prejudice against lesbians and gay men,
during the last week of the semester compared to pretest levels” (Case). Heterosexual privileges
are taken for granted every day. “After exposure to information about heterosexual privilege and
homophobia, students may become more supportive of same-sex marriage” (Case). People don’t
realize the hate homosexuals’ deal with day to day if they have not been exposed to it, or haven’t
had an experience with it. “Comparisons of Week 1 and 15 revealed students’ heterosexual
privilege awareness increased significantly over the semester. In fact, the most pronounced
change among all of the study variables came from students’ greater heterosexual privilege
awareness. Students’ prejudice against both lesbians and gay men decreased significantly during
the course, although the mean changes were relatively small. At the end of the term, students
also expressed significantly more support for same-sex marriage rights” (Case). In other words
if more people would take the time to understand the issues that homosexuals face every day and
the privileges they take for granted it’s likely that homosexuals would be more understood and
more accepted, therefore same-sex marriage would have more support.