A lot of talk lately has gone on about the same-sex marriage debate.
Between the nearly repealed “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and the overturned same-sex marriage ban in California, it has been chaotic, to say the least.
The gay community around the world wants the government to recognize the legitimacy of its relationships. Let me explain to you how this is a problem and how we can fix it.
My issue with same-sex marriage derives from my belief in the importance of a traditional family. For me, the point of getting married is to find someone you love with whom you will eventually start a family and raise children, who in turn become the next generation.
I believe it is important for children to have one mother and one father and at least one sibling.
While I do agree that certain circumstances are less healthy for children than other ones, there is not a single study out there that can possibly determine my opinion — or anyone else’s.
It is for this reason that I do not support any piece of legislation that intervenes in the issues of neither marital nor any other personal relationship.
I can’t really imagine what the gay community felt when the federal government decided to formally support one marriage arrangement over another, but the closest comparison I can imagine is when The New York Times ran a story earlier this year implying that children shouldn’t have best friends because it’s an unhealthy and possessive attachment.
Man, did that story make me angry. I love my best friend to death. If the government ever passed legislation against being best friends, I’d probably go out in the middle of the streets dancing with a bunch of best friends in protest, too.
When it comes down to the grain of the relationships I hold, it doesn’t matter what other people think or feel or believe, because I know how much I love certain people in my life, for better or worse.
To all members in the United States House of Representatives: If you are really interested in fighting for freedom over ideology — based on religion or not — I hope you will support the Respect for Marriage Act of 2009, which will repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
I also further recommend adding a provision to the proposed bill that will forbid the government from recognizing any form of marriage as legitimate. This will end the formerly endless cycle of the government returning people’s money after it decides whether to deem them appropriate enough for society.
To the gay community: You need to realize that, by forcing the government to recognize same-sex marriage, you are being as forceful and coercive as those who put in place the Defense of Marriage Act. There is a better fight to be had.
I believe in the invisible hand in the market and in society.
If same-sex marriage is meant to be, then it will be. Like government intervention has done to our foreign affairs, its intervention in our domestic affairs will be met with newfound extremists and pointless partisanship regarding an otherwise self-functioning debate that can only be resolved in time.
Reach Brian at brian.p.anderson@asu.edu
