The Debate On Gay Marriage - 2745 Words

I. Introduction to Moral Dispute: Gay Marriage Contemporary moral disputes are constantly ongoing around the world and in the United States. For hundreds of years marriage has been defined as the legally or formally recognized union of a man and a woman as partners in a relationship. Up until relatively recently the debate on gay marriage has not been a popular topic. Gay marriage has been illegal in the US and most countries around the world up until the early 2000s.[1] The debate on gay marriage has grown with more and more people publicly speaking and giving their opinions on it, especially in the Unites States. II. Opposing Views Gay marriage has been largely opposed in the US for years now for several different reasons that mostly†¦show more content†¦[3] The strong support of this argument by religious figures, such as the Pope, makes this a strong argument for the opposing side. However, in more recent years Pope Francis has made a slightly less opposing statement, when he said â€Å"Who am I to judge a gay person?† [4] Showing how times have certainly changed in regards to view on homosexual people. American historian Harry Jaffa agreed with this idea that being gay is not natural, he then argues that if people think that this is natural than many other ‘bad’ things are also natural. Jaffa believes, â€Å"if sodomy is not unnatural, nothing is unnatural. And if nothing is unnatural, then nothing - including slavery and genocide - is unjust†. [5]Jaffa argues that homosexuality is not natural because the only natural reason for relationships, according to the bible, is to have children. So, these arguments that homosexuality is unnatural and deviant (once again based off of the bible and religion) couple with the argument that the purpose for marriage, as defined by religion and the bible, is to reproduce, and since two men or two women cannot reproduce they should not be able to wed. An obvious continuation to this argument is the idea that by legalizing gay marriage it is giving the approval of homosexual