I just recently heard about the legalization of gay marriage in my state, and I figured I would do a quick blog about my thoughts on it.
There is a big debate about whether or not gay marriage is a good thing for society. Some believe that such a thing destroys the meaning of marriage and is immoral. Obviously such a belief is typically limited to those looking to protect religious values. I see no objective reason for why gay marriage is a bad thing. It would only be a bad thing if it had a negative impact—which I don't believe it does. In fact I believe the effect of gay marriage on society is a good thing in that it is what many gay couples want, and it harms virtually no one (may cause stress for those that are philosophically against it, which I guess could be slightly harmful). In fact I believe this development will lesson societal turmoil: when one group is unable to do things that another group is able to do, this is a rights violation, and this only fuels in-group/out-group hatred. Gay marriage certainly will further help integrate the gay community. As far as those that believe it will ruin heterosexual marriages, I don't understand how—unless of course for those "heterosexual" people that get tempted to jump to the other side of the fence (where they feel more comfortable). Obviously I am not all knowing, but from what I have seen, gay marriage should have no effect on true heterosexual marriages. In-fact homosexuality is better in the open than for it to be hidden and for gay men to hide their sexuality by getting into heterosexual relationships (which is harmful in itself). The fact of the matter is, even if gay marriage does go against certain people's values, this is a free country, and freedom is a two-way street.
Moral of the story: Don't worry marriage traditionalists, no one is going to force you into a same-sex marriage. And while this victory for the gay community isn't directly connected with the rise of atheism, I believe the rise of atheism has strengthened secularism, which surely has helped (close enough to a victory for atheism...or more specifically, secularism over religion).
There is a big debate about whether or not gay marriage is a good thing for society. Some believe that such a thing destroys the meaning of marriage and is immoral. Obviously such a belief is typically limited to those looking to protect religious values. I see no objective reason for why gay marriage is a bad thing. It would only be a bad thing if it had a negative impact—which I don't believe it does. In fact I believe the effect of gay marriage on society is a good thing in that it is what many gay couples want, and it harms virtually no one (may cause stress for those that are philosophically against it, which I guess could be slightly harmful). In fact I believe this development will lesson societal turmoil: when one group is unable to do things that another group is able to do, this is a rights violation, and this only fuels in-group/out-group hatred. Gay marriage certainly will further help integrate the gay community. As far as those that believe it will ruin heterosexual marriages, I don't understand how—unless of course for those "heterosexual" people that get tempted to jump to the other side of the fence (where they feel more comfortable). Obviously I am not all knowing, but from what I have seen, gay marriage should have no effect on true heterosexual marriages. In-fact homosexuality is better in the open than for it to be hidden and for gay men to hide their sexuality by getting into heterosexual relationships (which is harmful in itself). The fact of the matter is, even if gay marriage does go against certain people's values, this is a free country, and freedom is a two-way street.
Moral of the story: Don't worry marriage traditionalists, no one is going to force you into a same-sex marriage. And while this victory for the gay community isn't directly connected with the rise of atheism, I believe the rise of atheism has strengthened secularism, which surely has helped (close enough to a victory for atheism...or more specifically, secularism over religion).
No comments:
Post a Comment