Homosexual Marriage

In the state of Hawaii the decision was made to recognize marriages between homosexual couples. Other states have moved to forbid marriages between persons of the same sex. Various people have different ideas on what should be done with the marriages between gays or lesbians and whether or not they should have the same status as heterosexual marriages in all states. I am going to be discussing some very important issues that are talked about and appear when the thought of legalizing gay marriage is brought up. To some people the thought of letting children grow up in household with a same-sex couple is disturbing and shouldn't be done. Also, I was able to interview two completely different gay men, different ages with different view points on what they believe should be done. So I am able to share with you what they agree and disagree with. Finally, I am going to be discussing how Congress is addressing this issue and an update on the legal side of it.

Although many heterosexual people believe that homosexuality is a choice that these "people" make, that's a myth. The simple fact is homosexuality is a physical condition, not a choice, consistently affecting some eight percent of the population worldwide. There are studies that offer strong evidence that homosexuality is not entirely decided by genetics. These studies are proof that there is no such thing as "choosing" to be gay/lesbian, it's something you are born with.

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Homosexuals already adopt children, and the children don't suffer as a result any more often than those of heterosexual couples. All parents whether homosexual or heterosexual, will have their arguments among themselves and the children, not know what to do in a certain situations, and even ask for help from family and friends on what they should do. I would no sooner deny them the right to adopt children than I would deny a person the right because of the color of their skin or some other physical distinction.

There's a huge question mark punctuating the future of marriage in America, members of Congress are denying everyone the right to help decide if we will legalize homosexual marriage. We all deserve the right to participate in such an important and far reaching change in our social structure. By refusing to bring the Federal Marriage Amendment banning same sex marriage to a vote in Congress, they are conveniently doing two things. First, Congress is denying you the right to know where they stand on homosexual marriage. Second, Congress is refusing to give you an opportunity to be involved in the process. Depending upon the outcome of the battles now taking place in Massachusetts, Oregon, San Francisco and so many other places, we can expect one of two very different societies: one with marriage and one virtually without it.

Being able to interview two gay men, with two completely opposite viewpoints was a big advantage for me to learn an insiders point of view. As you will notice when you read through the two specific questions that I chose to put in here they have very different answers. I conducted my first interview with a 43 year old male, who works as a shift manager at Ponderosa Steakhouse, lives on his own, and is currently single.

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When asked, "What does marriage mean to you?", his reply was somewhat shocking.

He stated that, "The word marriage means nothing, its only a piece of paper to me that entitles two individuals to share in their property, their benefits, taxes everything like that! Marriage to me is not a commitment with everything that is going on in the world today. It is totally overrated and pointless to me." When conducting my second interview I asked the same questions to a 20 year old man, who also works at Ponderosa Steakhouse, lives at home with his parents, and is currently dating another man. When asked "What does the word marriage mean to you?", he