Reasons Why Same-Sex Marriages Should Be Banned Essay

Same-sex marriage is one of the controversial issues in the contemporary societies. For decades, marriage has been viewed as a social union between women and a man. At the same time, many cultures viewed homosexuality with contempt and hatred. However, the 21st century saw a different change in the perception of same-sex relationships as many societies across the globe are slowly accepting gay and lesbian couples. With a growing tolerance for same-sex marriages in the society, the debate over legalizing homosexuality has received many criticisms from different quotas. While many people believe that accepting homosexuality will bring negative effects to the society, the activities and supporters of same-sex marriage contend that banning it infringes on their rights and freedom to be married. In essence, legalizing same-sex marriage would destroy the meaning of family, cause social unrest, and affect future generations.

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Legalizing same-sex marriage would alter the meaning of the family. Most religions define marriage as a social institution where opposite sexes who are not closely related by blood vow to love and stay with each other for life (Cochran 931). With the growing cases of divorce and single parent families in the recent past, the initial meaning of marriage has been lost (Cochran 931). Legalizing same-sex marriages will further weaken the respect for marriage. Activists of homosexuality are advocating for equality when it comes to writing names in birth certificates. They believe that in birth certificates, parents should be named as parent A and parent B as opposed to the traditional father and mother names. However, Kurdek noted that doing so will change the true meaning of family especially when it comes to naming children. While same-sex marriages hardly harm anyone, weakening or changing the meaning of marriage would bring social changes to the society such as marrying many wives (880).

Accepting same-sex marriages violates the sacred institution. Almost all religions view homosexuality as sinful and unacceptable. Therefore, accepting a relationship considered morally wrong violates the religious freedom. Moreover, legalizing homosexuality would weaken the institution and tradition of marriage. For a long time, the social concept of marriage has been considered to be between a female and a male and thus there is a need to maintain this concept to preserve cultural traditions (Stevenson 12). Customarily, the general belief of marriage has been between a woman and a man and thus people should respect and maintain this belief. Moreover, accepting the same marriages would threaten heterosexual marriages as many people fear that doing so will be the first step to alter and abolish the structure of traditional households.

Accepting same-sex marriage makes it difficult to bring up children. One of the major reasons for marriage is to create favorable conditions for bringing up children. Because homosexuals are unable to procreate, Cochran noted that heterosexuals have higher chances of consistently creating an appropriate and nurturing environment for next generations (931). Reports have indicated that the most appropriate environment for raising children is one where there are protection and directions from a mother and a father (Stevenson 12). In fact, children raised from same-sex marriages are prone to poor lifestyles such as poor academic performance, truancy, school dropout, and drug abuse. Besides, the absence of a father or a mother in the same sex household usually causes financial and social challenges. For instance, children raised in homosexual households are repeatedly exposed to homosexuality and have higher risks adopting same-sex lifestyles. These children are also likely to bully and discriminated against by their peers, a situation that would detrimentally affect growth.

Legalizing homosexuality will cause social unrests in the society. Studies have revealed that children brought by in same-sex marriage will costs the community lots of money in terms of law enforcement and social welfare expenses (Sherkat 167). For instance, the government is required to set additional funds on the benefits and protection programs for lesbian and gay couples. Moreover, allocating allowances to same-sex marriages may increase the number of non-serious marriages. For instance, many friends may decide to stay together as couples to evade taxes and receive medical and other benefits from the government (Cochran 931). More importantly, studies have reported that homosexual behaviors may subject the victims to a higher risk of health challenges including psychological disorders, AIDS, as well as reduced life expectancy. These, as noted by these professionals, will also increase the expenses of the hospital industry.

Despite reasons provided by opponents of same-sex marriages, individuals supporting homosexuality have contended that banning same-sex marriage violates human rights. Human rights are freedoms and civil rights inherent to every person irrespective of his or her nationality, gender, ethnicity, as well as, the religious view among others. Principally, every person is entitled to do anything he or she wants to be provided that such actions are not harmful to the society, and people should respect the decisions that others make (Sherkat 160). Reportedly, same-sex marriage is an issue of equal and civil rights and the decision to settle down should entirely be made by couples in love and should not be controlled by the government. While lots of people are uncomfortable with same-sex marriages, they should accord homosexuals necessary equality and dignity they deserve. Furthermore, same-sex marriage is a personal decision that no one should dictate. Therefore, withholding the right to enter into a legal agreement between two persons of sound minds is a severe breach of human rights.

Supports of gay and lesbian relationships contend that marriage is a consensus relationship between two people of sound minds who have vowed to love one another. To them, many couples prefer getting married not to be recognized by the society but to express the love they have for one another. To them, the marriage is a relationship between two persons who have vowed to spend the rest of their lives together. Besides, recognizing same-sex marriage as a civil right does not violate the rights of persons who morally and religiously oppose it and it hardly harms those outside this relationship (Stevenson 12). Couples who stay together are entitled to receive protection and marriage benefits from the government to continue living. Besides, married couples stand with one another, especially during emotional and financial difficulties. Because this marriage benefits the couple in numerous ways, supporters of same-sex marriage content that homosexuals should be given rights to be married.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while several gay activists and scholars argue that prohibiting same-sex marriage discriminate homosexual couples, this kind of relationship should be banned in the contemporary societies since it weakens the meaning life, causes social unrests, increases probabilities of getting diseases, and causes difficulties in raising children. If individuals wisely consider numerous cases of STDs that majorly affect same-sex lifestyles, possibly talented lesbians or gays would not be dying. Because same-sex activities are the primary causes of premature deaths of lesbian and gay couples, same-sex marriage should not be allowed in the modern societies

Works Cited

Cochran, Susan D. "Emerging issues in research on lesbians' and gay men's mental health: Does sexual orientation really matter?" American Psychologist, vol. 56, no. 11, 2001, pp. 931-947.

Kurdek, Lawrence A. "Are Gay and Lesbian cohabiting couples really different from heterosexual married couples?" Journal of Marriage and Family, vol. 66, no. 4, 2004, pp. 880-900.

Sherkat, Darren E., et al. "Religion, politics, and support for same-sex marriage in the United States, 1988-2008." Social Science Research, vol. 40, no. 1, 2011, pp. 167-180.

Stevenson, Michael R. "Deconstructing Arguments against Same-sex Marriage." PsycEXTRA Dataset, vol. 1, no. 3, 2004, pp. 12-30.