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jennifer
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The ancient philosopher Aristophanes believed that in the beginning, humans
were the equivalent of two people combined; they each had two heads, four legs,
and four arms. These humans had two halves. The two halves were either both
male, both female, or male and female. When the Greek god Zeus punished
humans by splitting them all in half, each half then spent its life searching for its
other half.
While this myth is not about sexuality, it could be interpreted as describing sexual
orientation. There are homosexuals, heterosexuals, and bisexuals. Unfortunately,
these different kinds of people aren,t all given equal rights and opportunities.
When two heterosexuals fall in love, they are allowed to be legally married and
spend the rest of their lives together, enjoying all the benefits of marriage. When
two homosexual people fall in love, they are denied marital rights, and, although
they can very well spend the rest of their lives together, they won,t have all the
rights and opportunities that heterosexuals will have regarding marriage. This is a
great injustice in our society today.
However, the homosexual population has put up a tremendous fight, and 40% of
the U.S. population supports homosexual marital rights. The issue of homosexual
marriage has been brought to the courts many times, and, in some states,
homosexuals are being allowed to make civil unions, which gives them some of
the rights that marriage provides. But this is not good enough. Homosexual
people should have all the rights that heterosexuals have. People, regardless of
their sex, should be able to choose who they marry; whether it be a man or a
woman.
As long as there have been humans, there has been homosexuality. In Ancient
Europe, homosexuality was expressed as well as accepted. Plato wrote a play,
Symposium, which included two long term homosexual relationships, in which
one of the pairs was buried together. In Ancient Crete, a homosexual would
announce one,s love for his or her beloved. After they,d chased in the country
side and made love, the witnesses would share a meal and return to town, where
the relationship was acknowledged and praised. In Ancient Sparta, many
relationships developed between older well educated men and young boys of
good character. These pairs were known as the inspirator and the listener. The
two stood by each other until death. While some may think that homosexuality is
a fad of some sort, making its way through a decade or two, it is really "a
minority but perfectly natural characteristic on the human spectrum of sexuality. It
is not something one chooses, it is something one is.
The law protects an individual,s right to marry whomever they wish. Courts all
over the country have recognized homosexual,s relationships as valid. Former
House member Honorable Henry A. Waxman has said, "Inequality among
homosexuals, regarding marriage, is promoting discrimination against individuals
who seek the same responsibilities and opportunities other Americans seek when
they form a lifelong union with someone they love. In addition, Vermont,s
Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex couples are entitled to equal rights. A
homosexual,s marital rights have been acknowledged within the constitution. The
U.S. Supreme Court stated in 1974, "This court has long recognized that
freedom of personal choice in matters of marriage and family life is one of the
liberties protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. In
1996, the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled, "By refusing marriage licenses to
same-sex couples, the court is discriminating sexually and violating the equal
protection clause of the Hawaii Constitution.
At this point, in this homophobic world, it would be incredibly bold for any court
to legalize same-sex marriages, because of the common cultural thinking that
exists today. It will take a change in this common thinking for any court to make
this ruling, without there being riots and violence and outrage afterwards.
One of the arguments that anti-homosexual marriage groups make is that
homosexuals should not be allowed to marry because it betrays traditional
American values. However, like the reference to the Greek god Zeus earlier in
the paper, the traditional American family is a myth. As said by the National
Organization for Women(NOW), "Tradition cannot justify discrimination. Not
long ago, marriage was traditionally limited to members of the same race and
religion, and married women were virtually the legal property of their husbands.
While some people,s definition of a family is a breadwinner father married to a
homemaker wife with two biological kids, a more realistic definition would be
two or more people who share responsibility and love.
The traditional American family ideal has a lot of holes. Many more kids live in
other types of families: with a single parent, with lesbian or gay parents, with
grandparents or other relatives, or in blended step-families. Plus, a lot of children,
particularly girls, have suffered from physical or sexual abuse from within the
home. The truth is, homosexual families are just as American as heterosexual
families. Louise Marry, a lesbian mom, says, "We care about our kids, we
maintain our civic responsibilities, we try to present good role models for our
kids, and we make mistakes, just like everyone else.
When heterosexuals marry, there is an underlying expectation for what roles each
person will play. Although these expectations have faded significantly over time,
they are still there. The woman will do most of the housework while the man
pays the bills. When homosexuals marry, these expectations don,t exist, and each
person ends up doing what they,re good at, or what they enjoy doing. All families
are different, and all families are valid.
Of all the arguments that homosexuals give for their rights to marriage, the most
basic, and most important of them all, is simply that homosexuals are entitled to
all the rights that heterosexuals have. Without legal rights to marry, same-sex
couples do not have rights like family health coverage, child custody, tax benefits,
and pension plans. Even if two homosexuals have been together for more than
twenty years, they still must check "single on all official documents. Says Paula
Eltelbrick of the national gay and lesbian quarterly, "Marriage defines certain
relationships as more valid than all others. Lesbian and gay relationships are
always at the bottom of the heap of social acceptance and importance."
Giving homosexuals marital licenses would ease the discrimination that they
regularly suffer from otherwise. Paula Martinac, author, says, "Lesbian and gay
romantic experience has been erased, ignored, invalidated, or viewed as adult
(that is, pornographic). When the lesbian television hero Ellen playfully and
jokingly kissed her straight woman friend, the show began running an advisory
warning about its adult content."
In Omaha, Nevada, Reverend Jimmy Creech won a battle in court to perform
same-sex unions. After he performed a ceremony between two lesbians, he went
on trial before the Methodist court, and was found not guilty of violating church
law. However, this didn,t stop his Bishop, Joel Martinez, from firing him. Says
Creech, "It,s very painful. I have loved being here. It,s not so much a fight that
I,m fighting. It,s a ministry I,m trying to be faithful to, and I may need to find a
new way to do that." If same-sex marriage is legalized, it will be a wakeup call to
people like Joel Martinez. A wakeup call telling everyone that discrimination like
this will simply not be tolerated.
Marital discrimination has occured within other groups of people throughout
history. In the 1500,s, Jews and slaves during Spanish Inquisition were not
allowed to marry. In Prussia, in the 1700,s, blind people were denied marital
rights. Even in the US, it wasn,t until 1967 that the Supreme Court made the
ruling that made interracial marriage legal. All these wrongs have been righted. It
is time for the courts to rise above the public opinion and take a stand for the
common good. It is time to right the last wrong of marital discrimination.
In conclusion, homosexuality is just another part of human nature, and human life.
Homosexuality has been around for as long as humans have been in existence.
Over the centuries, people with different physical qualities or disabilities have
been denied the right to marry. This includes homosexuals. The law protects a
homosexual,s right to marriage. Courts all over the country have acknowledged
that homosexual relationships are valid. Homosexuals are entitled to all the rights
that heterosexuals have, and people should be able to marry who they love,
whether they are a man or a woman. Regardless of all this, homosexuals cannot
marry. Why not? Because our country has a disease, and one that is hard to get
rid of. Homophobia. Let,s stop being afraid of something that is, to some extent,
inside of us all. Marriage is an option that everyone deserves to have. Let's get
over the last hump on the road that will take us to total equality.
~juh-nell
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