Same Sex Marriage: Love Should Be Enough

As stated in our Declaration of Independence: every single person in our country is entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. With that being said, why should a couple’s pursuit of happiness be limited and the marriage of the two forbidden? After all, it should not be considered gay rights – it is simply a human beings rights.

            A common theme was prevalent when students were asked about what they thought of this topic. What it ultimately came down to was that love should be enough. Senior Abby Junior put it simply; “I think gays should have the same rights as everyone else. Who has the right to tell anyone who they love?”

  There are those who oppose the idea of same-sex marriage as a result of their religion, like Radnor High School senior Ashley Bennett who claimed she would “try and get her kid to change their ways if they were gay in order to stop it.” Such beliefs are heavily supported by the Holy Bible which states “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”—Genesis 1:27 (NKJV) Those who oppose gay marriage believe that this passage from the Bible dictates God’s view on sexuality; that God created men and he created women with a vision for them to fall in love and reproduce.

Further extensive research into Gale’s opposing viewpoints webpage has uncovered that one of the top six reasons many oppose gay marriage is the fact that it does not provide a stable environment for children to grow up in. Being as those who share this opinion also typically believe that the purpose of marriage is to have children, same-sex marriages would be unable to carry out these duties as married citizens. Children growing up with gay parents will not get to experience the same things that children growing up with heterosexual parents might. The family dynamic is entirely different, and many people believe that every child deserves to have a mother AND a father to teach them the ways of the world from various vantage points. Senior Hannah Watts reiterated this point by stating that “if gay’s get married they can’t make babies and the world can’t go on.”

Although such opinions are very apparent and understandable, if two individuals want to get married and do not share these beliefs then no one else should have the right to tell them they can’t. Kevin Riley followed up on this view, “People shouldn’t have problems with it. I mean - on a religious level it technically is supposed to be between a man and a woman, but we live in a secular society so it doesn’t and shouldn’t matter.”

Individuals are always entitled to their own opinions, which may consist of negativity towards the idea of gay marriage, but that should not stop innocent couples from being allowed this treasured right. Individuals have every right to oppose gay marriage themselves, but they do not have the right to tell others that they cannot marry who they want. As senior Matt Levitan said very thoughtfully, “Vegetarians don’t have the right to make meat illegal. People don’t have the right to deny civil rights to other human beings.”