The purpose of having marriage as a legal institution is to encourage monogamy as the basis for stable personal lives and as one aspect of the family. Marriage is for people to find ways to live ordered and shared lives. It is intended to be the most stable possible unit of family life and a stable structure of intimacy. The word marriage is defined as, “The state of being united to a person in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law. It does not say only a man and woman. If changing the definition of marriage so that homosexuals can legally get married then I agree.
Marriage has changed and evolved over the centuries and so should our laws about marriage. The key premises used in Nava and Dawidoff arguments regarding the legislation of same-sex marriage are that marriage is not conditioned on the intention or the capacity of children. Restrictions on the right to marry, therefore, affect both associational rights and a variety of entitlements. Gays and lesbians want to marry for the same reasons other Americans do. They want to gain the moral, legal, social and spiritual benefits granted to the marrying couple and especially for their family unit.
Sokolowski argues the consequences of giving same-sex marriages full legal status. He believes that legalizing same-sex marriage will redefine the institution of marriage and open the door to other forms of marriage. The concept of same-sex marriage leads to impossibilities, because it contains a contradiction. I think the civil rights of the minority in a democracy should be dependent on the support of the majority. Minorities should trust that the government will protect their rights and self-identity. If the minority is restrained it will eventually end up in an uprising and civil riots.
Therefore, although the rights of the majority are significant the rights of the minority cannot be ignored. Balance must be reached in which the rights and freedoms of both minorities and the majority are met. In order for a government to promote unity, it is important that a government protect minority rights to the fullest extent possible in order for peace and order to maintain throughout society. Marriage has been a primary goal in which I have accomplished. I want what most Americans want from marriage and that is happiness and stability. I have many friends who are homosexual and want to get married but they cannot.
I strongly support gay marriages and it is unfortunate to live in a society that doesn’t recognize marriage between homosexuals. If I were legally denied the right to marry because of my sexual orientation I would move to a country or state where it is accepted. It is shameful to live in a place where discrimination still exists. Polygamy should be a legal form a marriage. Polygamy offers people the freedom of choice to love and marry more than one individual. If both spouses agree to the addition of family members, then the state should respect their wishes.
Polygamy increases the demand for woman as spouses. Polygamy also offers the husband more prestige, economic stability, and sexual companionship. It also offers wives a shared labor burden such as cooking, cleaning, and caring for children. Polygamous relationships also offer the possibilities of additional income and enhancement of the family budget while reducing dependency on state aid or welfare. The simplest justification for the legalization of incest is that consenting adults engaging in behavior that does not harm the third party should be free to do so.
People who commit incest typically are not raised together. Studies have shown that children raised together are less likely to be related to one another. The fact that two incestuous people are in a romantic relationship does not itself pose any harm to anyone. Opponents of mixed-race marriage like current opponents of same-sex marriage were concerned with biblical belief and with the raising of future generations of Americans. Mixed-race marriages broke race taboos. The awareness of mixed-race couples served the same end it does for gay couples today; including making the denial of marriage rights seem fair.
Due to sexual stereotyping, the privilege that allows only some couples to marry does not have to be understood, but instead seen as deserving and fair. Calhoun argues that lesbian should not fall into the category of being the housewife. Lesbians should look at marriage in a untraditional sense so that it won’t keep them down as women. I do not think that marriage should be dismantled. If the word marriage is the only thing keeping homosexuals from being together legally, then the word needs to change.
