http://mcquad.com/2010/02/24/point-counterpoint-proposition-8/
Point Counterpoint: Proposition 8
Point: Why I Hate Prop. 8
By Mary Kate Boylan
Assistant News Editor
Prop 8 is the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriages in California. The state granted same-sex marriage licenses starting June 16, 2008, because of an equal protection agreement, but made marriage exclusive to opposite sex couples on Nov. 5, 2008, when 52 percent of voters chose to ban same-sex marriage. The trial is on hiatus as the first stage of the federal trial has ended, but closing arguments are not expected to be heard until March. Appeals are expected to be made until the case is taken to the U.S. Supreme Court, as it should be.
People will never be equal until the same rights are given to all. As of right now, heterosexuals have rights that homosexuals do not, solely due to sexual preference. We are all humans, and because of this, we all inherently deserve the same rights.
Supporters of Prop 8 cite the Bible as their source for why marriage belongs only between a man and a woman. Fortunately, however, our country has a separation of church and state, so we cannot abide by a book in which some rightfully do not believe.
Marriage is not solely meant for procreation. There are plenty of married couples without kids, and many with no desire for kids. Should their marriage licenses be revoked? Are we so animalistic that we see marriage only for breeding?
One of Webster’s definitions of marriage says that it is “an intimate or close union.” A four percent difference in voters cannot determine who is intimate with whom.
A big argument for Prop 8 is that same-sex marriage is bad for children, first, because a child should have a mother and a father, and second, because parents do not want their children taught about the gay and lesbian lifestyle in the classroom. During the trial, Prop 8 supporter William Tam said that children would choose to be gay if they knew that it was an option. “Since it’s in the air, then they think, why not?” Tam said in his deposition.
Research was presented during the trial that showed a child would not be harmed in any way by being raised by a homosexual couple. Homosexual couples fighting for the right to adopt and care for children will be much better parents than the moms on MTV’s “Teen Mom”, one can almost guarantee it after viewing even a single episode of that fiasco.
Also, pretending that a heterosexual lifestyle is the only type that exists is lying. Then again, the Prop 8 backers who say marriage is for procreation are lying to their kids when they tell their children to marry someone for love.
A question that Judge Walker, the trial’s presiding justice, has raised multiple times is why the issue of marriage is even voted on. How can it be up to you or me to decide who can be in love? I refuse to judge that.
The issue of same-sex marriage is one that defies understanding and comprehension because one cannot understand how in the year 2010, we can consider it acceptable to deprive people of rights.
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Counterpoint: Prop. 8 Is Prudent, Necessary and Good
By Greg Giordano
Staff Writer
The argument constantly heard for gay marriage is that homosexuals are being denied the right to marry, when in fact the right to marry is very much offered to them. A homosexual has the right to marry, but just like a heterosexual, their mate must be of the opposite sex. In its essence, the debate over granting same sex couples the right to marry in California is the debate over the word ‘marriage’.
Marriage means that you are joined in a relationship with someone of the opposite sex and have the full intention of appropriating with that person. Countless psychologists, such as Dr. Trayce Hansen, a member of the American Psychological Association, agree that the best possible parental makeup for a child is a two parent, opposite sex, institution.
“This is vital, so that a child can have love from a mother and also love from a father; both kinds of love are equally important but qualitatively different,” Hansen said.
The facts, if not evident by one’s own perception, are acknowledged by author and researcher David Popenoe. In his book Life without Father, Popenoe proposes that the aspect of a father in a strong marriage provides a model for girls in what to look for in a man and gives them the confidence to resist the sexual pleas of their boyfriends. Popenoe also points out that fathers excel in reducing antisocial behavior and criminal behavior in boys.
When it comes to mothers, researcher Eleanor MacCoby, has pointed out in her book The Two Sexes some obvious findings and some not so obvious ones. She writes how a mother, for a girl, is imperative during the years of puberty. To any females reading this, ask yourself if when you got your period you went first, or at all, to your father, versus your mother. It is just as simple as that. A female needs another female to go to during those years of uncertainty just like a male needs another male to go to. The bond of parent and child is something that is much stronger than that of aunt, uncle or any other relative.
Once America changes marital law for one group, it will be forced to allow plural marriages and other types of situations under the banner of “equal justice for all.” As an American, I agree with the majority of California voters, that same sex marriage should be illegal. As Catholics, we believe that someone of a nature such as this should be looked upon not in a loathing way, but a loving way.
Dr. Gregory Herek, a University of California, Davis researcher recently took the stand in the groundbreaking Perry v. Schwarzenegger case in California, which challenges the validity of Prop 8. In his testimony, Herek admitted that the evidence that homosexuality is genetically wired is “weak… we don’t understand or know the origin of sexual orientation in men or women.” He continued by saying, “No one knows what causes homosexuality.” A statement like that assures one in their belief that homosexuality is not an element of a human that is equal to their race, gender, age or nationality, but rather a mental or physical defect.
When you argue that the hindrance of same sex marriages is an intrusion on basic civil rights, you are then opening the door to the debate on a wide range of topics. Should we be allowed to marry as many people as we want? Should we be allowed to marry underage individuals who consent to marriage? Should we be allowed to marry a member of our family? Where does it end? Where does it stop?
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