Same Sex Marriage
... birth control and infertile couples that wish to marry would therefore be immoral. Everyone marries for different reasons such as financial reasons, love, citizenship, companionship, or obligation. They may not be reasons that fall under the traditional ideals but still as long as they are of opposite gender it doesn't matter what the reason. Conservatives argue that same sex marriage goes against natural law and the traditional ideals. By saying it is unnatural the opposition is saying that it is not normal or the way we were born to be, that it goes against the laws of nature, and implying that it is therefore immoral. Natural law has a long history, and it has meant different things in different times, and in different contexts. When Thomas Aquinas formulated his version, he argued that man could know the moral law, through reason, without the aid of scripture. He did not argue that things that are unnatural are immoral, he argued that things that are against reason are immoral. For example, it may be unnatural for man to fly, but are airplanes immoral? Is it immoral if one were to walk on their hands? It is certainly unnatural. Human technology and progress transforms society all the time. To use one of Aquinas’s examples, we do not go around naked, even though that may be natural, and the way we are born. Traditional ideals meaning the way things have always been. With this logic, women would still have no identity apart from their husband, and we would still practice slavery. In order for there to be progress, traditions must continually be questioned for their usefulness and relevance. Those that still function well should be retained while those that are no longer appropriate should be discarded. Today there is a lot of pressure from religious groups stating that homosexuality is an abomination, therefore if the state passes a law for same sex marriage they are making an immoral decision that defies God's law. Many things that are within the Bible are up for interpretation, or may have been appropriate at the time but since then are outdated. For example in (Lev. 11:10) it states it is an abomination to eat shell fish, and in (Lev.11:6-8) it is forbidden to touch the skin of a pig, and in (Lev. 25:44) it states that one may possess slaves provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. Belief systems and personal codes of morality are fine for self-governance. To f...