Marriage Equality: Biology v. Religion

As a nation, the United States of America was founded under the idea that all individuals are created equal, the very basis of Human Rights. No where in history was this more indicative than the mid-twentieth century, at the dawn of the era of Equal Rights. As the Third Millennium dawns upon the people of this great nation, we are again witnessing history as the laws of biology come head to head with the ideas of religion, as the issue of gay marriage is fought out in court. When an individual or group makes the choice to use their personal beliefs to oppress a another simply because they choose to live private lives in a way that is different, in a way that has absolutely zero effect on them, they have chosen to commit an act of hate. In response to those few among us who would dare to use the name of God to disguise the spread of hate (using his name in vain in the process), claiming that, by doing so, they performing an act of love by "saving" society's afterlife from eternal damnation, the following must be asked:

How does a loving gay couple in a healthy relationship being able to get married affect your life here and now? Just because you believe in your Bible, with your rather radical claims that the Bible places homosexuals on the same level as criminals, does not mean the whole of society agrees. Thieves, adulterers, pedophiles, and killers all have an immediate, proven negative effect on individuals and society. Honestly, the comparison of members of the gay community (who's only "sin" is that they don't live by the standards YOUR religion) to thieves (who steal personal property from other people), adulterers (who have violated an oath sworn God, but more importantly in terms of society violated the TRUST of somebody close to them), pedophiles (who abuse children by taking advantage of their trust, innocence, and naiveté for their own personal pleasure), and killers (who actually "play god" by taking peoples' lives) is a strong indicator of just how out of touch with society you are. A loving gay couple who decides to get married and are just living their day-to-day lives, making positive contributions to society through providing goods and services, paying their fair share of taxes, and just in general being good people, will have the exact same effect as a loving straight couple making positive contributions to society through providing goods and services, paying their fair share of taxes, and just in general being good people. By restricting marriage to heterosexual couples, you are doing nothing more than imposing your religious beliefs on others, simply to benefit your faith, an action no different than Islamic extremists who choose to impose their religion through Sharia Law.

In all of human history, until the last few hundred years, it was acceptable to own individuals much like we own livestock today. To be against such a practice would have been to go against society, and risk ostracization. Within the last century, in countless jurisdictions across this nation, interracial marriage was illegal. Marriage has been equalized for members of all races, but we have yet to achieve truly equal marriage. The only thing being "imposed" through marriage equality is the fact that gay love is no different than straight love, something which has no effect on your personal life whatsoever. If you still insist on marriage inequality, the alternative is a ban at the civil level on all marriage. Marriage would be a purely religious bond, performed within a place of worship, with a separate government-recognized and mandated civil union ceremony being required of ALL couples, gay or straight, within our city halls and our courthouses, before being recognized by the powers that be. In that way, "marriage" can be defined by each individual religion, and would have absolutely zero implication on anything done at a governmental level.

You may see this viewpoint as incorrect, but really, is it? Is it incorrect, as a matter of fact, or as a matter of your religious belief? If it is the former, can you please provide peer-reviewed scientific evidence, and please cite your sources. If it is the latter, then this can not be incorrect since different individuals have different beliefs, and with religion, regardless of what organizers in Rome or Salt Lake City may say, all that matters is what an individual believes in their heart. Some believe in the God of Abraham, some believe in the Goddess, some believe in the Flying Spaghetti Monster, some may believe in no god at all, but again, all that matters is what an individual believes in their heart. No one religion is right, but no one religion is wrong, either. Where religion goes wrong is when it is imposed on other members of society simply to placate one group's faith. What of the most important rule, a rule which the vast majority of religions across the face of this planet share as their very foundation, The Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"? In other words, love and compassion. Religions are based off of it, as are successful families, and successful societies. How would you like it if a law was passed requiring all females to wear a veil, or requiring all males to be circumcised, simply because of a religious mandate? How about imposing Islamic Sharia Law across the United States? Probably would not go so well, and would definitely violate the First Amendment's guarantee to Freedom of Religion. So why do the same for same-sex marriage? When a group of society is oppressed for only wishing to live their lives in a manner which has no negative effect on those surrounding them, but which others may find "offensive" due to their own personal beliefs, you start to destroy the foundation provided by The Golden Rule, opening the door to religious supremacy and theocracy. I hear members of your group all the time criticizing the Arab world for the fact that they force their people to live under religious law under threat of prosecution, violating human rights in the process, but really, are you any better? You may not stone people to death, but you apparently do wish to force people to live under a rock, all for being different. In the end, both are religious supremacists, forcing their beliefs on entire civilizations.

Your group has yet to bring forth any compelling, scientifically provable evidence as to why homosexuality is wrong. All of your reasons have been based around your personal religious belief, which does not apply to everybody (and in fact, probably doesn't even apply to a majority, or even a plurality). Are you stating that your belief is the only correct one? What of Buddhists? Taoists? Jews? Hindus? Islamists? If you get a ban on gay marriage, what next? Divorce? Premarital sex? Birth control? Other religions? Ultimately, a Christian version of Sharia? You claim that by allowing same-sex marriage, we open a slippery slope where the next steps are polygamy, pedophilia, beastiality, and incest. The slippery slope goes both ways. Until you can come up with some non-religious scientific evidence that allowing same-sex marriage will result in the absolute destruction of society and the world, please keep your religious beliefs out of the private lives of those who share this nation, and this world, with you. Christianity may not be wrong, and can even do a lot of good for mankind, but certain aspects, as interpreted by a few, are most definitely wrong for society as a whole.


Marriage Equality: Biology v. Religion by Anakin-Marc Zaeger is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at http://anizaeger.blogspot.com/2012/09/marriage-equality-biology-v-religion.html.