The Controversy about Gay Marriage
...h 2005, the number of divorces decreased from 6,753 to 5,984, to 5,137” (Zak 1). People may think that the number of divorces has decreased from 2003 to 2005. However, this still does not specify that the number of divorces among same sex couples is less than traditional couples. “But the fact that we have badly served the institution of marriage is not a reflection on the institution itself; it is a reflection on us” (2). People of both sexes who are attracted to either sex feel that since freedom of choice must be a national right, then man or woman has the right to choose whom to marry based on preference. “The Defense of Marriage Act, which President Clinton signed into law in 1996, stipulated that while the states could decide for themselves what they recognize as marriage, the federal government would only recognize marriage between a man and a woman” (Murphy 1). This doesn’t mean that if others marry that it will keep men and women from marrying. Many people feel that marriage is a sacred institution; therefore, it should not be threatened in any way that will bring men and women further apart. The principal purpose of marriage is to unite couples and bring children into the world. Essentially, the foremost family is one brought by a father and mother in order to insure child rearing and cultural health. “According to activists on both sides, they view gay marriage as “the new abortion” – a passionate and uncompromising struggle that will be fought in Congress” (Cooperman 1). However, this statement cannot prove that Congress will be able to view same-sex marriage as a way to limit people from achieving reproduction. “The fact is that many gay couples raise children, who are adopted and occasionally their own from failed attempts at heterosexual marriages” (Bidstrup 3). It is not natural for two people of the same sex to have sex because only opposite sexes were meant in the first place to achieve reproduction. It is not possible for same sex couples to achieve reproduction; therefore, the only way same sex couples can have babies is through artificial insemination. Artificial insemination is the process of placing sperm into a female’s reproductive tract in order to increase the changes of pregnancy. But two men, who are living together, cannot have babies because they don’t have the estrogen hormone or the progesterone hormone in females. Same-sex couples are raising children in 96 percent of all counties in the nation (Brandt 1). According to the 2000 census, the South has the highest percentage of same-sex couples who are raising children, followed by the Midwest (1). This stipulates that while much of the South and Midwest has the highest percentage of same sex couples who are raising children, the rate of traditional married couples is still on the rise as people are drawing closer to the opposite sex. The debate about gay marriage has a much bigger effect than what society realizes in regards to the traditional family lifestyle. In order for gay marriage to be amended, then Congress must first come to the conclusion that by allowing gay marriage, then the number of opposite-sex marriages that end up in the divorce courts would decrease (Bidstrup 4). Supporting the idea that legalizing gay marriage will not be a threat to the traditional institution of marriage is like convincing society that we will always have the freedom of choice no matter the end result. This could then lead to stripping each of our justifications of marriage which would undermine our civil rights. “The primary argument against same-sex marriage is a really religious animus against homosexuality” (Roleff 142). Many people find it offensive for a person that they know of or have heard of to marry ...