Essay: Same sex marriage

Human beings are a complex species and with that comes complex issues. One of the issues that has greatly developed in the past few decades, is marriage equality and whether it is ethical or not. Marriage equality is both same sex couples and opposite sex couples having an equal situation to marry. The argument that everyone deserves equal rights and be open about their identity opposes the argument that same sex marriage is unnatural, harmful and offensive.
The argument that is for marriage equality uses human rights and dignity as their main focus to get their point across. They claim that it goes against human rights to deny two people the right to marry because of their sex and that a civilized society does not discriminate on grounds of race, religion, sex or sexuality and denial of marriage rights is clear discrimination (Debating Europe, 2019). The discrimination they are experiencing is being likened to sexism and racism, both which are also major issues that have had world wide debates regarding equality.
The argument that is against marriage equality uses religious views, limits to rights and the natural law. They claim it is offensive and damaging to religions and their roles in society. It puts churches in a dangerous position as if gay marriage is legalised, the church could be held accountable for discrimination for refusing to marry a homosexual couple (LawTeacher, 2013). They also say that there are limits to our rights, such as incestuous marriages, and that homosexual marriages fall under the same category as incestuous marriage. Finally, they argue that homosexuality is unnatural and immoral, going as far as likening homosexuality to a genetic disorder or disease (Boss, 2002).
Everyone is supposedly entitled to their own opinions and actions, therefore there is no universally accepted law to decide whether an opinion or action is ethical. However there are frameworks to put borders in place of what is ethical (Nuffieldfoundation.org, 2019). Utilitarianism is one of these frameworks or principles, which is to maximise happiness and that an action is deemed good if it leads to a good consequence (The Conversation, 2019). This is related to the issue of same sex marriage as both the happiness of same sex couples and those opposing their marriage must be taken into account. Same sex `couples would gain direct benefit as they could live their lives like any other couple whereas those opposing it would only experience indirect harm (The Conversation, 2019). Another principle is virtue, an ethic than is not concerned with an action or consequence, but whether or not a person is a good person. A virtuous person embodies love, generosity and respect so in the ethical issue, a virtuous person should support same sex marriage as it is two people who love each other.
Along with the ethical principles, there are ethical views. Such as religious views and scientific views. Many religions such as Christianity and Islam have negative opinions regarding same sex marriage (Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, 2019). People who are apart of these religions say it is offensive to their beliefs to allow homosexuals to marry however the argument opposing this is that it doesn’t affect them directly like it does to people being denied marriage. Scientific views are based on science and there has not been any evidence that homosexuality is a disease or genetic disorder as claimed by those against homosexual marriage, instead they recognise it as a sexual orientation (ScienceDaily, 2019). Therefore all arguments that claim it is a disease or disorder are false as of now and hold no credibility regarding a scientific view.
The issue of same sex marriage has affected many people. There is an estimation that 23% of the worlds population is homosexual, that means there is 23% of the world population being denied the rights to marriage (Black, 2019). For Andrew Sullivan, growing up as a homosexual was difficult as his future of not being able to have a family was impacting on his mentality. “But I figured then that I had no such future. I could never have a marriage, never have a family, never be a full and equal part of the weddings and relationships and holidays that give families structure and meaning.” (TIME.com, 2019). This is how same sex marriage bans have affected homosexual people as they don’t get to grow up and experience the life that heterosexual people do. Another example of the difficulty that people go through is with a young 19 year old in India who commited suicide after being ridiculed for being homosexual. On a facebook post he said, “Everyone knows I am a boy. But the way I walk, think and talk is like a girl. People in India do not like that, please do not blame my family. Help them. We are poor. I love my mom, dad and sister. I thank them for supporting me. It is not my fault that I was born gay,” (Desk, 2019). This example shows the impact from being treated differently, that the laws around homosexuality seperate them as a minority and lead to discrimination because they aren’t the same as traditonal couples.
To conclude, my opinion on this issue is that yes, same sex marriage should be allowed. That it is not fair to deny them the right to marriage just because they are a minority in comparison to heterosexual couples. My views are influenced by utilitarianism and scientific views that everyone deserves the same chance to be happy and that there is nothing scientifically wrong with being homosexual. There should not be limits to equality regarding any matter whether it is gender, race, nationality or sexuality.