I'm not going to attempt to argue the issue here because there are plenty of articles that continue to cover the same ground, for and against, why same sex couples should or shouldn't marry. I don't want to write just a repeat of what the people who support the idea are saying.
For me, the idea of same sex marriages is a no brainer. It's not a question of should it be made legal it's more a question of why hasn't it been made legal yet?
In other words, it's a non-issue. Make it legal and you'll make a lot of couples very happy, life will go on and hopefully the world will grow a little closer to understanding what equal rights for all actually means.
I realize I'm some what progressive in my views. Heck I'd support making it legal for one person to marry several partners so long as everybody entering into that kind of arrangement were doing so willingly. For some people (and cultures) that kind of family structure works well.
Of course we could go the other way and make marriage illegal for everyone. I don't see us getting that kind of equality any time soon.
Australia is a country where de facto relationships - including same sex relationships since 1999 - share similar legal rights married couples. Which kind of means the step towards same sex marriage is hardly going to change our society as we know it. The debate really comes down to a moral issue.
Is it morally correct to discriminate against who can be married based on their sex alone?
I'm going to leave the question open since you know my view. However I am going to finish with a pet hate of mine in this debate.
The idea of marriage has transcended religion... non religious people get married every day. Hence it's not really a religious issue. So, to all those religious people that parrot out the line...
"God created Adam and Eve, NOT Adam and STEVE."
...leaves me wondering if God did create Steve would he be Gay?
I never understood why religious groups are so against it. I would more or less understand if they were against it in the realms of their belief - I mean, for religious people of their congregation or whatever - but I don't see why so fiercely oppose it as a legal option for other people who don't agree with their beliefs. It is not like they'll be forced to marry someone of their own sex...
ReplyDeleteI don't understand it either. I suppose there's a case to made in being against it according to the teachings of your religion but to extend beyond that and impose the religions opposition onto all people seems to cross some sort of line.
DeleteUnfortunately, whilst it's okay for religious people to voice their opposition to same sex marriages, many lose sight of the fact that forcing their view point onto those outside of the religion is not a very religious thing to do.
You can't preach acceptance and tolerance whilst waving a big stick.