Same sex marriage

This was for a class speech. Read it if you want.

Edward Westermarck defined marriage in the 1922 edition of The History of Human Marriage as "a relation of one or more men to one or more women which is recognized as custom or law and involves certain rights and duties “to the individuals who enter into it, and any children born from it

A very good afternoon and a hearty welcome to all of you to this class presentation. Today I Shubham Rakheja , is going to express my views on a topic which can be described as a topic of sensitivity, not only because of its content but also because of its much obvious relevance to today’s ever vigilant society:

IS SAME SEX MARRIAGE GOOD OR BAD?

Marriage means the institution in which a man and a woman become legally united on a permanent basis. This is the lexical meaning of one of the most important institutions of our time. There are a lot of debates among people whether same sex marriage helps or hurts the sacred institution of marriage. Now I completely believe that love is universal and any two people, irrespective of their sex can love each other and also I am not saying that homosexuals should be banished from the society or anything of that sort. On the contrary I believe that they should exercise their rights and perform their duties as efficiently as any heterosexual citizen, but to me the concept of same sex marriage is a little implausible. I don’t think that same sex marriage does any good to the society.

To begin with, the institution of marriage is the most important element in providing the continuity of the society. With the help of procreation the married couples provides the society with the next generation. That’s to say, marriage is not only composed of a social contract, it’s a physical merger that gives birth to the next generation. Based on this opinion, we can say that marriage is not for everyone, especially for homosexuals. You can say that the unmarried couples also have children. Yes, they do. But in these types of families, family members are not attached to each other with strong ties, especially the fathers. The child and the mother are attached with biological ties but marriage attaches the fathers to the children. The children who have grown up without either a mother or a father can have psychological problems, they can even commit suicide. According to a study, the Institute of Marriage and Public Policy in the US stated that family structure is very important for children and their future. According to them, family structure is the most important component of the marriage.

On the other hand, marriage is not just a set of mutual benefits or an artifact of law. It’s a normative institution. The mothers and the fathers involuntarily protect the institution of marriage while they safely raise their children with love. The children, who have grown up with loving fathers and mothers, respect the institution of marriage so they also want a family of their own. But we cannot expect a homosexual couple to provide the same level of understanding, warmth and ‘knowledge’ to a child as compared to a heterosexual couple. Moreover, the child can face unusual situations while confronting his or her peer group as they might treat him or her with indifference.

The third thing is that homosexual marriages may also hurt the institution of marriage in religious ways. Many religious lawyers of traditional marriage claim that to call homosexual relationships "marriages" is a mistake, because marriage should involve the uniting of two members of the opposite sex. Traditional marriage lawyers insist that homosexual relationships should not be recognized as marriages. The Roman Catholic Church argues from a theological point of view against recognizing same-sex unions. In their view, acts of sexual intimacy are only proper between a married man and woman.

In the end, I would like to say that while it’s not demeaning for any two people to love each other, it would be most wise for them to keep the traditional definition of marriage intact and always remember the main purpose of the establishment of the institution of marriage. It is only with happy marriages and happy couples that we can expect to have a better society and a better world.