Anti-Gay vs. Pro-Marriage Anonymous Course: English 101 Instructor: Carly Zeller Essay Type: Argument The American dream, one of freedom and equality, is cherished in the heart of every citizen of the United States. With this dream in mind, most of society will say they support equal rights for homosexuals. Ask these members of society if they support gay marriage, however, and the support of gay equality comes to a screeching halt. As seen in the most recently debated public votes, the majority of Americans voted for the Constitutional Amendment, which puts a ban on gay marriage. All of these Americans, ironically, do believe in providing equal rights to the gay community, rights including: no toleration of discrimination in jobs by creating equal opportunity employers, rights protecting gays from hate crimes, rights allowing same access to housing, rights allowing advancement in government, and so on. However, the concept of gay marriage is still not considered a right the American people should extend to homosexuals. A huge misunderstanding underlying this debate is the assumption that gays have a "choice" to whom they can feel attracted. Just as heterosexuals cannot" choose" who they are at-tracted to, neither can homosexuals. Opposition movements, such as the Focus on the Family led by Dr. James Dobson, claim to "promote the truth that homosexuality is preventable and treat-able" (Dobson 74). Dobson goes further in claiming, "living as a homosexual is not as happy-go-lucky as frequently portrayed in the entertainment media" (Dobson 72). How can a member of the straight community say with an "expert opinion" that homosexuality can be "changed," or even whether a homosexual can be happy or not? What about the research done to prove thathomosexuality is purely genetic? No one would ever" choose" to live a life faced with prejudice and discrimination. The same assumption of choice leads to the idea that homosexuality is purely about sex, often called a "sexual perversion" (Personal Interview). Again, the reality is that homosexuality is multi-faceted. Homosexuality is much more about love and affection than it is about sex. Sex, in any committed relationship, is a means of expressing that love. This is true whether in a heterosexual or homosexual relationship. Being gay represents who that person is and forms his/her identity; being gay is that significant to the person who is. Very few heterosexuals can understand this. Instead, heterosexuals use their lives as a basis for what "normal" should mean. Perhaps the most significant and repeated case opposing gay marriage is the idea that it is "immoral," yet the "immoral" label is based solely on religious beliefs (personal interview). The First Amendment states, "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ... " (" Amendments"). While the amendment clearly protects the right of religious freedom, it also confirms that the Bible has no relevance in American law. Religion is not supposed to be the basis for our country's laws. Nevertheless, the majority of citizens against gay marriage are trying to impose their religious beliefs onto others and formulate those beliefs into laws. One can completely agree with the argument against gay marriage because of one's religious beliefs. One should also agree that under the First Amendment no one has the right to impose rules, beliefs, or opinions, on anyone else simply because they identify a moral dilemma with the Bible. Not everyone is religiously inclined to the same morals. The argument for supporters of gay marriage is neither a demand of a change in the opponent's religious beliefs nor a demand for the acceptance into that religion. The gay community is simply fighting to be free from religion in determining the laws of the country.The majority of opponents believe marriage is between one woman and one man. The opponent's viewpoint is that a marriage should be between members of the opposite sex; otherwise, the marriage would be untraditional. The opponent also believes that same-sex marriage would threaten the institution of marriage. I believe this argument has no factual evidence to support the claim. How does allowing a person to marry threaten marriage? Why is the straight society only given the right to marry? Who defines marriage? Recently, many courts say there is no evidence for why gays should not be allowed to marry. These courts realize the American principle of human rights. One such case, Lawrence vs. Texas, determined "all sodomy laws in the United States are unconstitutional and unenforceable when applied to non-commercial consenting adults in private." In other words, sodomy laws, laws prohibiting consenting members of the same-sex to privately engage in oral or anal sex, were deemed unjust and were no longer able to be enforced. The reasoning behind such laws and beliefs seems more like direct prejudice rather than an overwhelming reason worthy of denying people their civil rights. Many countries throughout the world have extended equal rights of marriage to same-sex couples. The first country to do so was Denmark in 1989. Later in 2000, Denmark also allowed legal adoptions for these married gay couples. Other countries were able to observe how legalizing gay marriage only made the institution of marriage stronger, both for heterosexuals and homosexuals. Soon, in 1993 Norway formed Registered Domestic Partnerships, and in 1996, Iceland formed Registered Cohabitations. Both of these legislations extended gay marriage and adoption rights to gay couples. In recent years, Germany in 2000, the Netherlands in 2001, and Belgium and Canada in 2002, have all agreed that "discrimination of marriage laws based on sexual orientation" is not only unjust but also "unconstitutional" ("Gay Marriage"). Ithas been proven in these countries that the opposing fears of legalizing gay marriages based on the idea of causing an increase in divorce rates and STDs, along with the loss of monogamous relationships, have no merit. In all of the countries with legalized gay marriage, studies have shown no increase in STDs and a dramatic decrease in divorce rates. Despite evidence to the contrary, these fears exist and thrive in the United States, and are the reason why, as of June 2003, the only rights extended to gays are federal death benefits to same-sex couples. Vermont is the only state where gay marriage is legal;