“Same-Sex Marriage Should Not Be Legalized”

PONTICIFICA UNIVERSIDAD CATOLICA MDRE Y MAESTRA. RECINTO SANTO TOMAS DE AQUINO. Academic Writing ILE-322 Student Name: Leslie Herrera. ID Number: 2009-5699 Teacher: Emilia Gracia Final Draft: Essay 3. “Same-Sex Marriage Should Not Be Legalized”. July 18th 2012. Same-Sex Marriage Should Not Be Legalized. As we know, same-sex marriage has been discussed and argued for a long time. Within the controversial topic of gay rights, there’s no area more controversial than same-sex marriage. And all of us ask ourselves if same-sex marriage should be legal or not. But the fact is that we have to start thinking about it as a moral and religious topic.
The government shouldn’t legalize the same-sex marriage because the legal definition of marriage is the civil union between a man and a woman, marriage is a religious rite, and also those couples will be able to adopt children if they are given the right to marry. Same-sex marriage is also known as gay marriage. Same-sex marriage is between two people of the same gender. The Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in 2001; in the United States of America, the first state to legalize same-sex marriage was Massachusetts, on May 17, 2004. According to ProCon. rg (2011), as of May 10, 2012, same-sex marriage has been legalized in eight states such as: Massachusetts, Connecticut, Lowa, Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Washington, Maryland, and the District of Columbia which will be effective on January 1, 2013. This has become an even more controversial topic since these current legalizations of same-sex marriage. One argument against same-sex marriage is that the legal definition of marriage is the civil union between a man and a woman. “The institution of marriage has traditionally been defined as between a man and a woman” (ProCon. rg, 2011, Con Gay Marriage, ¶1). Further, if any government gives the right to marry same-sex couples this traditional institution of marriage will weaken. “Marriage runs contrary to two of the primary goals of the lesbian and gay movement: the affirmation of gay identity and culture and the validation of many forms of relationships” (ProCon. org, 2011, Con Gay Marriage, ¶8). Therefore, same-sex marriage is totally the opposite of the traditional institution of marriage; those are two things that cannot have the same rights, and actually God made us to be heterosexual no homosexual.
In addition, marriage is a religious rite. “Gay marriage is not compatible with the beliefs, sacred texts, and traditions of many religious groups” (ProCon. org, 2011, Con Gay Marriage, ¶4). In fact, we know that most of the religions are opposing same-sex marriage, because they are always guided by the Bible and God’s commandments and his teachings. “Marriage was established by the Creator with its own nature, essential properties and purpose. No ideology can erase from the human spirit the certainty that marriage exists solely between a man and a woman” (ProCon. org, 2011, Con Gay Marriage, ¶12).

If same-sex is legalized, churches and other religious institutions would be forced to change their rules in order to marry same-sex marriage couples. Furthermore, one of the biggest problems for society and probably the most important for new generations is that same-sex marriage would be that those couples will be able to adopt children if they are given the right to marry. “The institution of marriage as a union of man and woman, uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children within a family, is as old as the book of Genesis” (ProCon. org, 2011, Con Gay Marriage, ¶1).
Children need both a mother and a father, because they learn a lot from each of them. “Girls who are raised apart from their fathers are reportedly at higher risk for early sexual activity and teenage pregnancy. Children without a mother are deprived of the emotional security and unique advice that mothers provide” (ProCon. org, 2011, Con Gay Marriage, ¶6). Besides, same-sex marriage will intensify to the assimilation of homosexuals into a heterosexual culture. And probably that one of the facts that can affects the society the most, because if that happened our moral and religious values would be lost.
The supporters and people who are for the same-sex marriage argue that they should have the right to civil marriage because of same marriage benefits, such as: health insurance and public acceptance which heterosexual couples have. Nevertheless, that argument of the supporters is irrelevant, because each person can have his or her own health insurance that provides their workplace, so they don’t need a family or spouse health insurance to have the same benefits as traditional marriage. On other hand, if the government were to legalize same-sex marriage the public acceptance is not guaranteed.
Because people are that decided in what they are going to believe, maybe some people will accept this and a larger group of people disagrees. Therefore, the government don’t have to legalized the same-sex marriage in order to people accept homosexual family or marriage or to receive health insurance. Hence, no government should legalize same-sex marriage for all the facts that this action may involve, for example, those couples will be able to adopt children and also because of moral and religious values.
Accordingly about what we have read, the legalization of same-sex marriage is an unmoral and unreligious action. I think that promoting homosexuality with government-backed same-sex marriage it would hurt our children, the generations that are growing, the country, and also the entire world. If a homosexual man or woman wants to get married, the only thing they need to do is choose not to be homosexual and marry someone of the opposite sex. Reference Pro. Con. org. (2011, January 9). Should gay marriage be legal?. Gay Marriage. Retrieved from http://www. gaymariage. procon. org