The Gay Marriage Debate: Tradition

Although the thought of legalizing gay marriage raises controversy due to its obvious refutation of tradition, it should be noted that several other "traditions" in society have also been overturned over the years. Here are just a few:

• Divorce (now legal and accepted)
• Acceptance of interracial marriage
• Allowance of contraception within marriage
• Women are no longer considered property of their husbands
• Polygamy has been outlawed

The Gay Marriage Debate: Social Argument

Whether we wish to accept it or not, in this country, marriage is often treated like a glorified business transaction. For this reason, gay marriage has received a critical eye. How productive can a gay couple be in society if they cannot produce offspring (and thereby contribute to society as a whole)? This argument has been undercut with counter arguments that by that logic, menopausal women or sterile men should not be allowed to marry. However, some still maintain that the social construct of marriage should remain male-female in order to preserve cultural traditions. Today, active steps are being made by policymakers and the public to reverse this thinking.

The Gay Marriage Debate: Children

Since gay couples are unable to produce their own offspring, this has been the crux of much of the debate against gay marriage. However, gay couples are showing their ability to parent exceptionally well. Not only can gay men parent children with a surrogate mother, but lesbian women can if they so choose opt to become impregnated with donor sperm -- either from a friend or by anonymous donor via a sperm bank. In addition, gay couples are in a wonderful position to adopt abandoned or orphaned children and give them the loving homes they so desperately need.

The Gay Marriage Debate: Religious Argument

Much of the gay marriage controversy stems from religious beliefs that state that marriage is meant to be between a man and a woman. In essence this is due to the belief that much of marriage's purpose is toward procreation, and therefore the propagation of a larger religious community. The Roman Catholic Church is often thought to lead this manner of thinking, further stipulating that acts of sexuality between same-sex couples is actually immoral. However, more progressive religious communities have rethought this stance, asserting that the laws of early patriarchal religions do not apply to today's world.