n I think it’s amazing how many times the average young person (high school or college student) says, “It doesn’t affect me,” in response to various political or social questions. For instance, the hot topic of the country, originating in Massachusetts of course, has been gay marriages, which has spread to other parts of the country. This inequality has gone so far as to one county in Ohio wanting to ban homosexuals from living within its borders. This does affect you; it affects everyone – maybe not now, but eventually. Americans thought terrorism in the Middle East wouldn’t affect them and we all know now how wrong we were. So, should gays be allowed to be married?
First, when did marriage cross over the separation of church and state line? Marriages, originally ordained exclusively by priests, are religious announcements to the congregation that this man and women are committed to each other. It is a certain religious belief that only man and women should be wed, which breaks no laws.
However, when we start allowing one couple to have more rights than another because of a religious belief then we have erased the line between church and state, one of the foundations of this country.
Second, I think marriage licenses should be abolished and civil unions, the joining of two individuals, should be the official license given out by the state. Civil unions would be a state-recognized joining of two individuals, regardless of sex. After this, religious leaders would be free to go further and join whomever they see fit to join, into a holy matrimony.
Third, religious leaders are claiming that the “sanctity of marriage” is being destroyed because gays are being allowed to wed. This infuriates me. Where were these “defenders of marriage” when “Who Wants to Marry a Millionaire” was on? The divorce rate in this country is a staggering 50 percent – if two people are in love and are fighting the masses to wed just to have the state recognize them as a couple, how could I be in the right by letting my personal beliefs interfere with their way of life? It reminds me of when it was illegal for an interracial couple to marry. I guess history does have a way of repeating itself.
Clifford Whitehead
CAS ’06
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