Proposition 8 and same-sex marriage in California

Proposition 8

Homosexuality and what rights should be afforded to same-sex couples have been in the forefront of politics for the last few years. Before this, gay people had to fight to get recognized and for their relationships to even be legal. Right now, two very important issues have been about whether gay people should be allowed to get married and whether or not they should be allowed to adopt children (Colombo 79). At the heart of the debate is the definition of a marriage and what it means to really be a family. Those who do not believe in gay marriage feel that this term should only be applied to a union between a man and a woman and this is absolutely true. Gay people should be allowed to live together and be together, but they should not be allowed to get married, nor should they be allowed to adopt children because if it is allowed, it can destroy the fabric of society.

Currently there are few states in the nation which allow gay marriage and the DOMA bill which was passed into law in the 1990s declares that the federal government does not recognize same-sex unions. This law says that gay people cannot get benefits from the federal government like social security if they are with a gay person instead of being married to someone of the opposite sex. Some people who passed this law then are now saying it should be illegal, including President Bill Clinton who signed the law when he was in control of the White House. He is only doing this because now the society says that same-sex marriage should be allowed and not because he truly believes that they should be allowed to. This is why a lot of people are coming out in favor of same-sex marriage. There is pressure to conform to what the society says is appropriate and this is wrong. An example of this is the CEO of the Chic Fil -- a fast food chain. He does not support same-sex marriage and was brave enough to say so. People for same-sex marriage protested and now his businesses are even banned in some cities simply because what he believes is different. This is violating free speech which is promised in the First Amendment of the Constitution (Dobson). Several courts in the United States have ruled against allowing same-sex marriage including in the state of New York where the court ruled "It was an accepted truth for almost everyone who has ever lived, in any society in which marriage existed, that there could be marriages only between participants of different sex" (Denniston). New York has recently changed their minds and allowed gay marriage, but the point the court made is still true. This is the only society in history that has allowed marriage between people of the same sex. Marriage was created to protect the family unit, to give validity to the bond between a man and a woman and to unite their two parent families. It was created an directly linked to children and child-bearing; marriage was created so that the husband and wife could have children and carry on the family name.

Besides marriage, homosexual couples have wanted to adopt children, which is not fair to the young ones in their care. Science has shown that children who are raised in non-traditional households have major issues when they become adults. Children who are raised in single family homes are often not functional as adults. This is also true for children who are raised in foster homes or who are orphans. Tens of thousands of studies have shown that children do best when they are raised in traditional families, with a mother and a father present (Dobson). In same-sex homes they lose out on a mother or a father or even both. There is not a great chance that they will be normal when they grow up. It can be assumed that a child who is raised by either gay men or lesbians will also be maladjusted. That child will grow up with either two fathers or two mothers and therefore miss out on a relationship with one of the parents they are supposed to have.

It should also be noted that homosexuality has not been scientifically proven as an innate thing. People say that being gay is not a choice, but that you are born either gay or straight but this has not been proven (George). Science has not shown anything like a hormonal disorder or a difference in brain waves which would show that someone is biologically gay. Rather, being homosexual is a choice and an immoral one at that. By choosing to be gay, a person is choosing to be morally deviant, so it does not make sense to give them the benefits of getting married or in allowing them to be responsible for children.

In addition to the concerns already mentioned there is the fact that AIDS and HIV are still found more in homosexual couples than heterosexual ones. A 2012 new report found that gay males account for a staggering 2/3 of all new cases of HIV diagnosed every year (Garcia). That is more than 30,000 cases of HIV each year reported in gay men. Such a statistic shows that despite their complaints about equality and intolerance, homosexuals in large numbers still choose to behave irresponsibly despite knowing the risks of those behaviors. Given that they pose a danger to themselves, it seems unfair and wrong to allow them to pose a threat to others as well.