Why Gay Marriage is Bad

Vermont recently overrode Governor Douglas' veto of same sex marriages.

I'd like to point out that an outstanding majority of people opposed to same sex marriage are very religious and many see it as redefining a sacred institution. A sacred, religious institution that is deeply embedded with rights granted through government. Many religious people also ignore and deny the separation of church and state which was reiterated in a series of court hearings such as Reynolds versus the United States and McCollum versus the Board of Education. I've also read arguments that identified Thomas Jefferson's letter to the Danbury Baptist Church as not bringing about the separation of church and state, which when read is clearly outlining the separation. He write's: "Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church & State," (Jefferson). It can be understood in the establishment clause of the United States Constitution found here that it was purposeful to separate the two and with a glance back at history should be maintained. This separation has given our country a lot of power to enable everyone to gain the rights that were left to be fought for by minorities overlooked when establishing themselves in a country of equality. As there are a lot of different arguments, I think that it is safe to say religion should be left to the individual, their God and their Church, not to oppress other peoples right to marry. The stigma in society of homosexuality was brought about by religion. If you look into the history of Ancient Greece you will see that homosexuality was an accepted practice until it was outlawed in Rome when Christianity gained power.

It is also believed that same sex marriage is bad for children and would be harmful taking away their right to a mom and a dad. In a society that is full of children without any parents at all, this seems ridiculous. Artificial insemination is also looked down upon for women in a committed relationship with another woman. How is giving a child life and being raised by two women bad? They never would have been given life if they hadn't been artificially inseminated. It is only an expectation of our society that a child should be granted a mom and a dad, even when divorce rates are high. So many children in this world would love to have two parents or even a single parent. If you google "same sex parenting" you will find little evidence that there is a harmful effect on children from having same sex parents. In return, you will find studies that show that same sex parents are just as good as heterosexual parents.

Last night aired the pageant competition, Miss USA, in which one of the contestants, Miss California, said that she believed that marriage was meant to be between a man and a woman, not same sex. In return she has been faced with a lot of negative attention. Past Miss USA winners have even come forward advocating for same sex marriage. I think that this shows that our society is making a turn around. This issue has had a lot of attention in recent political and social spheres. When religious and sacred meaning is taken out of the picture people realize that homosexuality and same sex marriage is not an evil curse on society.

When it comes to the argument of letting "the people" decide on same sex marriage I would like to put forth this from The Transformation of American Religion by Alan Wolfe. "Democracy, liberals of this persuasion believe, is a wonderful form of government, but when it comes to protecting the rights of religious minorities or nonbelievers, a nondemocratic institution like the courts is required to keep it in check," (257 Wolfe). A mixed constitution of the many, the one and the few creates a balance of power. This is why we have a mixture of types of governments, a democracy (legislative), a monarchy (president), and an aristocracy (judiciary). They keep each other in check and protect the rights of the minorities.

April 7th, 2009, A day to remember

Today, April 7th, 2009, Gay marriage was legalizied in Vermont. As the fourth state to recognized gay marriage. This was a big deal for a Vermont, because once the first vote passed 95-42, Governer Jim Douglas made a big commotion when he publicly stated that he would veto the bill if it ends up on his desk. And well when it did, he picked up his pen and vetoed the bill. However, with a 25-3 override vote in the senate, and a 100-49 vote in the house, April 7th is a memorable day for gay couples. A day to remember, when they are given more rights, and able to legally get married. According to the Burlington free press article, Jim Douglas was expecting to happen. So what if he was expecting this, was the point in vetoing the bill to begin with when there are other things that need to still be figured out? Watch the video to see his reaction. It's the third movie down. 

So what does this mean now for gay couples? Even though the positive things that come out of the law, it means that they can file taxes together. Well, at least only in Vermont. It is only aloud to file state taxes. Federal taxes still need to be files separately. With the pass of this new law, there were some changes to it before it was passed through the house and. Some of the changes that happened. "Before, the Bill stated that religious communities do not have to perform or recognize a same-sex marriage ceremony, the House decided to take it one step further.'A religious hall, they will also have the same exemption. They do not have to offer that under the public accommodations law,' Campbell said" (Kennedy). This was a big step for the house to decided to pass the law. Click here to see the whole article from Fox 44 News. 

This related to our class because we have been talking about how religion effects our everyday lives. This bill wouldn't have passed without any religious beliefs taking place. Obviously the downfall to that is that if a gay couple wants to marry in a Church, they need to make sure that the Church allows it first. But that is a minor bump in the road compared to everything that has happened up until this point. 

Kennedy, Ben. "Same-Sex Bill Breakdown." Fox 44 News. 7 Apr. 2009. 7 Apr. 2009

Gay Marriage in Vermont

This week in class we focused on Mark Lilla’s The StillBorn God. Lilla talks about this tension between government and religion. They seem to overlap making it very hard to keep politics out of religion and religion out of politics. We are having this issue right now in Vermont with legalizing same sex marriage. Many people are outraged at this proposal, supporting pins that say marriage = 1 man and 1 woman. One couple interviewed said “marriage is between a man and a woman that’s the way Gog designed us”. How do they know what God designed? Why is their religion right and others not? I am honestly outraged that people are involving themselves in matters that have no effect on their everyday life. While this may go against their religion, we live in a world where you are free to choose your own religion and should not force your religion on anyone. They should have no say over another’s happiness. This bill will give same sex couples more legal rights and the “pride” that comes with saying you are married. They are having a meeting tonight that is open for people to talk about the issue in Montpelier. This seems to be a problem for older adults who cannot accept a totally new idea that was banned during their era. I feel it is time for this change because it creates happiness for more people with little to no negative effect on others lives.
Click here to watch video
Here government is trying to pass a bill they believe will create marriage equality. If this bill is passed we will be the fourth state to legalize same sex marriage falling behind California, Massachusetts and Connecticut. Will this bill be able to pass and not let religious beliefs stop it?