Gay Marriage: Theologil and Moral Arguments - Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

Contents:

• GAY MARRIAGE: THEOLOGIL AND MORAL ARGUMENTS
• GAY MARRIAGE
• 31 ARGUMENTS AGAST GAY MARRIAGE (AND WHY THEY’RE ALL WRONG)
• SHOULD GAY MARRIAGE BE LEGAL?
• TEN REASONS TO SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE
• FIVE ARGUMENTS FOR GAY MARRIAGE

GAY MARRIAGE: THEOLOGIL AND MORAL ARGUMENTS

Statistics suggt, however, that gays and lbians are not creasg number, if we accept the bt rearch data of Edward Lmann, who puts the number at about 5% of the populatn1. What has grown is a much greater acceptance of gays and lbians our culture, as well as the social and enomic eedom for gays and lbians to emerge om the closet that has nfed them for so many generatns. The recent addn of same sex mment ceremoni the Sunday New York Tim weddg and engagement announcements and the populary of shows as "Will and Grace" and "Queer Eye…" dite a shift our culture's attu toward gays and lbians.

My tent was two-fold: first to ve stunts to dialogue wh people different om themselv; send, to work to elimate, whatever small way I uld, homophobic attus on our mp and our muny. My purpose today is not to support or fend gay and lbian marriag—ed, many gays and lbians do not want to marry—but simply suggt a theologil approach that might open up the possibily for greater Christian acceptance of, and eccliastil approval for, same sex unns.

"Consiratns Regardg Proposals to Give Legal Regnn to Unns Between Homosexual Persons" (CDF): nnot promote any form of civil regnn of same-sex unns, formally or materially. Catholic sistence: one n uphold the digny of homosexual people while not upholdg their right-to-marry; no unjt discrimatn towards homosexuals is acceptable; they mt be treated wh rpect, and their rights fend. Homosexual upl g vro fertilizatn (IVF) or surrogate mothers liberately create a class of children who will live apart om their mother or father.

GAY MARRIAGE

A number of leadg profsnal associatns have asserted that there are "no differenc" between children raised by homosexuals and those raised by heterosexuals. Soclogist Steven Nock of the Universy of Virgia, who is agnostic on the issue of same-sex civil marriage, offered this review of the lerature on gay parentg as an expert wns for a Canadian urt nsirg legalizatn of same-sex civil marriage:.

31 ARGUMENTS AGAST GAY MARRIAGE (AND WHY THEY’RE ALL WRONG)

Although the evince on child out is sketchy, do suggt that children raised by lbians or homosexual men are more likely to experience genr and sexual disorrs. In the first edn of his book fense of same-sex marriage, Virtually Normal, homosexual mentator Andrew Sullivan wrote: "There is more likely to be greater unrstandg of the need for extramaral outlets between two men than between a man and a woman.

It is plsible to spect that legal regnn of homosexual civil marriage would have siar nsequenc for the stutn of marriage; that is, would further stabilize the norm that adults should sacrifice to get and stay married for the sake of their children. If the distctive sexual patterns of "mted" gay upl are any ditn (see above), is unlikely that homosexual marriage would domtite men the way that heterosexual marriage do.

SHOULD GAY MARRIAGE BE LEGAL?

Early Years: Same-Sex Marriage Bans In 1970, jt one year after the historic Stonewall Rts that galvanized the gay rights movement, law stunt Richard Baker and librarian Jam McConnell applied for a marriage license Gerald Nelson rejected their applitn bee they were a same-sex uple, and a trial urt upheld his cisn. ” This lg effectively blocked feral urts om lg on same-sex marriage for s, leavg the cisn solely the hands of stat, which alt blow after blow to those hopg to see gay marriage beg 1973, for stance, Maryland beme the first state to create a law that explicly f marriage as a unn between a man and woman, a belief held by many nservative relig groups.

Though the gay rights movement saw some advancements the 1970s and 1980s—such as Harvey Milk beg the first openly gay man elected to public office the untry 1977—the fight for gay marriage ma ltle headway for many years.

TEN REASONS TO SUPPORT GAY MARRIAGE

In 1989, the San Francis Board of Supervisors passed an ordance that allowed homosexual upl and unmarried heterosexual upl to register for domtic partnerships, which granted hospal visatn rights and other years later, the District of Columbia siarly passed a new law that allowed same-sex upl to register as domtic partners. C., 1993, the hight urt Hawaii led that a ban on same-sex marriage may vlate that state nstutn’s Equal Protectn Clse—the first time a state urt has ever ched toward makg gay marriage Hawaii Supreme Court sent the se—brought by a gay male uple and two lbian upl who were nied marriage licens 1990—back for further review to the lower First Circu Court, which 1991 origally dismissed the the state tried to prove that there was “pellg state tert” jtifyg the ban, the se would be tied up ligatn for the next three Defense of Marriage Act Opponents of gay marriage, however, did not s on their hnch. Congrs 1996 passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), which Print Bill Clton signed to didn’t ban gay marriage outright but specified that only heterosexual upl uld be granted feral marriage benefs.

FIVE ARGUMENTS FOR GAY MARRIAGE

That is, even if a state ma gay marriage legal, same-sex upl still wouldn’t be able to file e tax jotly, sponsor spo for immigratn benefs or receive spoal Social Secury payments, among many other act was a huge setback for the marriage equaly movement, but transient good news arose three months later: Hawaii Judge Kev S.