My True Soul

Thought this was interesting - Same Sex Marriages

I did not write this, but wanted to share. I do not know the real name of who did write it however.


This flared up into news when a court in Massachusetts decreed that the state had to do something so that same sex couples could get married. This kind of put pressure on John Kerry, who up until this time was opting for some kind of legal certificate. Kind of like an honorary college degree. They call you doctor, but they don't let you operate.

Then the mayor of San Francisco left town, and same sex marriages broke out like measles. Then George Bush tried to suggest that a constitutional amendment was needed to prevent same sex marriages. Yet while all this was happening, everybody was ignoring the base problem and posturing for the public media.

Let's look at some of the arguments in this area. Just a few for each side.

Those who are opposed argue:

Same sex marriage will degrade the institution of marriage. I'm not quite sure how. We already have a 50% divorce rate (60 here in Jacksonville), and one pop diva married one of her roadies for 58 hours. How can same sex marriage be any worse? Not a valid argument.

God intended for marriage to be between two separate sexes for the purpose of having children. Even if we did know what God intended, two separate sexes get married now days with the expressed intention of never having children, and they don't, and we still call it marriage. Not a valid argument.

Social benefits costs will soar if same sex couples are allowed to marry. A grain of truth here. While many companies do offer benefits to same sex partners already, some don't. Also, there is the consideration of discounts to families by corporations and social security survivor benefits. But these costs will be miniscule, and married couples will be contributing more to society so that the net expense will be minimal. I could do a lot of math to prove that, but I won't bore you with that here.

Arguments for same sex marriages include:

When my partner goes to the hospital, I want to be able to make decisions for him/her. You can do that now. Both of you should fill out Five Wishes, and both of you should grant powers of attorney to each other. Not a valid argument.

If my partner dies, his/her kids will come in and take everything. Hetero couples have this problem too. Proper paper work ahead of time will avoid those problems. See an attorney. Not a valid argument.

Marriage will give us the respect we deserve. Think so? Ask an interracial couple how much respect they receive. You demand respect from within. Not a valid argument.

So the arguments, while emotional, are kind of wishy-washy both ways. But I can add one that can help settle the argument. In the State of Florida, same sex couples can not adopt, but single individuals can. That means that only one person is the parent, and the other isn't. This also means that the parent can walk with the child, and the non-parent has no recourse. This also means that the non-parent can walk, and the parent is left to raise the child alone.

So there you have it. I believe that if two people love each other, they should be allowed to marry, regardless of the genders involved. This also means that these people do all the same things heteros currently do, things like blood tests before marriage and pre-nuptial agreements. And, since there is no reason to assume the divorce rate will be any better or worse than heteros, there will also be messy divorces, alimony, child custody battles, child support and all the things that go with breaking apart a legal union. Wait until someone gets half the estate, plus half the retirement fund at their next divorce.

Given all the things I've just mentioned, I wonder of Rosie O'Donnell would really have flown to San Francisco to get married on the spur of the moment if the union would have been recognized in New York.

One more thing. Working with my theory of not praying for what you want because you might get it, how will the possibility of marriage affect the gay community? All of a sudden, you have a room full of possible marriage partners. And the expense of marriage. And I'm looking forward to hearing one gay person look at another gay person in the eye and say, 'No thanks, I'm saving myself for marriage.'