Same Sex Marriages Essay, Research Paper

Same-Sex Marriages

?Alex knows that his family is unusual, to say nothing about his conception. In 1982, a family friend bicycled an oyster jar of his own sperm over to Bonnies’ [Tinker] house. [Bonnie] She administered the insemination herself. Alex [Tinker] considers Bonnie and Sara [Graham] his parents. But the father occasionally takes Alex–along with his own children–hiking or biking? (Shapiro and Gregory 2). This example is a prime reason of unacceptable behavior carried on by same-sex partners in today?s society. According to the many religious beliefs, same-sex marriages are immoral and sinful. It is understandable that not all people believe this statement, and we do have freedom of religion in the United States of America. One must see this issue from the point of view of a homosexual in order to fully understand the many controversies present in today?s society. Being gay and loving another person is not illegal, but uniting that couple in marriage is rejected by most of society. ?Many people are unaware that legalized homosexual marriage is a probability, nor are they aware of the nearness of this situation. As things stand now, there is a better than 90% probability that homosexual marriage will be legalized? (?New Storm Brewing?? 1). Courts in Hawaii would not allow same-sex marriages, and that is now being looked at as unconstitutional. Disallowing these marriages is discrimination against homosexuals, which is a non-constitutional act. Even though same-sex marriages are considered immoral by the many religions, according to our laws there is no reason why these marriages shouldn?t take place. Although laws do not make same-sex marriages illegal, there should be limitations. Same-sex marriages should be examined because they often wrongfully affect the well being of children, jeopardize the nature and rights of modern families, and wrongfully disobey many religions.

Marriages of the same-sex should not involve children. There is no natural way that two people of the same-sex could have children; therefore, they should not be given custody of a child or the ability to adopt a child. Rules and regulation have recently been written in order to prohibit such situations. Government on the national level is proposing to ban Second-parent adoptions, which in the past have been approved. These regulations would require marital status to be given to the Department of Social Services. Many people have pushed for the approval of this regulation in order to protect innocent children from being placed in an unstable family. Another difficult situation that has been known to arise is when one parent of a marriage finds out that he or she is gay. The adjustment is a struggle for children who think they are a typical heterosexual family to find out suddenly that one of their parents in gay (Shapiro and Gregory 2). All too often children are put into this situation, and some have a hard time coping with the repercussions. Children who have parents of the same-sex are often unbearably harassed by other children and considered an outcast. An innocent child put in a situation that would be emotionally stressful for most of their youth is not necessary. Just imagine what a child would go through. ?Billy, which one of your dads wore the dress in the wedding?? or ?Suzy, which one of your moms is coming to the mother-daughter picnic?? Why put kids in an environment that is not morally or socially acceptable in today?s society? It is often hard to let friends, family, and other people with whom you interact know that you are homosexual, or that you have homosexual parents. This was very noticeable in the case of Josh Gehman, when he had to explain to his fianc? about his homosexual parents. He stated ?My marriage fell apart over my wives discomfort with her lesbian in-laws? (Shapiro and Gregory 2). Many critics are also arguing that children of gay parents have a higher tendency to become gay themselves. Michael Bailey from Northwestern University says, ?they are finding rates on the order of 10% of the offspring of gay parents wh