If you examine the arguments used by the various groups against same-sex marriage, you may notice an interesting pattern. Let's examine a few arguments from those who wish to ban same-sex marriage in the United States.
1) Those who disagree with same-sex marriage may eventually be classed in the same category as racists.
2) If same-sex marriage became a norm, then marriage as we have known it may be gone forever!
3) Same-sex parents might not compensate for the lack of a father or mother in the family.
4) What is the point of marriage if no children can be produced?
5) Children ARE being taught in school that there is no moral taboo associated with same-sex marriage.
6) In the case of many religious adherents, there is the belief that same-sex relations are on par with adultery and having sex with your mother-in-law.
Now, I could have fun arguing against these points, but let's take a closer look at what type of arguments are being used. The first two arguments, unfortunately, expose two of the fears that the opponents of same-sex marriage feel. They are afraid that they will become the minority, and that they will lose something that they hold dear ("traditional" marriage .. which, ironically, has only been around a couple hundred years, and only recently had anything much to do with love and all that jazz). The second two arguments accuse same-sex couples of being insufficient parents. The last two arguments are based purely on a moral appeal to those who hold the belief that sex between two people of the same sex is a sin.
Two thirds of these arguments are based on fear. Fear is one very effective use of arguing through emotions. It can convince people to turn against an idea even if they themselves see nothing wrong with other people practicing it.
The remaining two arguments are logic based, but, in my opinion do not hold up to scrutiny.
The first is two-fold:
Same-sex couples might not provide a balance of gender exposure for their children
and
This balance is required for a healthy childhood
therefore
Same-sex couples might not properly raise a child
the second half of this argument:
Same-sex couples might not properly raise a child
and
those who are might not properly raise a child should not be allowed to marry
therefore
Same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry
I hope I do not have to point out all of the problems with these arguments!
The second argument can be broken down as follows:
Same sex couples cannot produce children
and
Marriage is primarily concerned with reproduction
therefore
Same-sex couples should not be allowed to marry
The second premise of this argument is not true, otherwise you could replace the first premise with those who are infertile through chance, age or choice. You can see where this would be problematic!
For fun, take a look at the types of arguments that proponents of same sex marriage are using and see how they compare.
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A fun statistic for you all: When laws are created that say things like "marriage is the union between a man and a woman" this leaves those who are neither in a very sticky legal situation. Did you know that about 1.7% of children are born with an ambiguous sex? That means that in a town the size of Roseburg, there are approximately 400 citizens who do not fall into the traditional male/female categories. The way that laws are being recklessly written in the name of religious morals is very disturbing to me.
For more information on the 1.7% figure: http://www.neiu.edu/~lsfuller/5sexesrevisited.htm
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