Gay Marriage Rebuttal
Rebuttal of opposition to gay marriage
Student Name
BCOM 275
February 17th, 2013
Mary Jo Moran
Rebuttal of opposition to gay marriage
The article I read was an interview of a reverend by a radio talk show host regarding gay marriage rights. In this interview there was much discussed but only one argument that clearly defined the reverends position on gay marriage. In reference to the topic of gay marriage the reverend, an opponent of gay marriage was asked why he did not feel that gays should be allowed to marry. The conversation is as follows.
CHADWICK: So is it that essentially you think the question is that marriage-- what we mean by the word marriage is defined by a relationship between a man and a woman, and …show more content…
RIVERS: And so the precedent, if you will, is not the undemocratic decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court but what we know from sort of common sense and what we know just in terms of comparative anthropology. That has been the traditional definition-- which is not to imply that there should not be provision made to deal with the real bottom-line issue, which is benefits in the case of gay couples.
In analyzing the reliability of the reverend’s statements it seemed prudent to research the premises the reverend provided that the normative definition of marriage was a man and woman and that historical precedence or comparative anthropology is the basis for denying gays the ability to marry lawfully.
3.5% of Americans identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered (LGBT) (Gates, 2006). Understanding that this is the minority it seems reasonable to conclude that normative definition of marriage may well be between a man and woman. When we look at his premise of historical precedent I know of few stories of same-sex couples in history and it seems that this then is true. In assessing reliability the speaker is the co-founder and chair of a multi-million dollar coalition and has been selected to speak at many political and religious conferences world-wide. Lastly in assessing validity the speaker has made a fallacy in
Student Name
BCOM 275
February 17th, 2013
Mary Jo Moran
Rebuttal of opposition to gay marriage
The article I read was an interview of a reverend by a radio talk show host regarding gay marriage rights. In this interview there was much discussed but only one argument that clearly defined the reverends position on gay marriage. In reference to the topic of gay marriage the reverend, an opponent of gay marriage was asked why he did not feel that gays should be allowed to marry. The conversation is as follows.
CHADWICK: So is it that essentially you think the question is that marriage-- what we mean by the word marriage is defined by a relationship between a man and a woman, and …show more content…
RIVERS: And so the precedent, if you will, is not the undemocratic decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court but what we know from sort of common sense and what we know just in terms of comparative anthropology. That has been the traditional definition-- which is not to imply that there should not be provision made to deal with the real bottom-line issue, which is benefits in the case of gay couples.
In analyzing the reliability of the reverend’s statements it seemed prudent to research the premises the reverend provided that the normative definition of marriage was a man and woman and that historical precedence or comparative anthropology is the basis for denying gays the ability to marry lawfully.
3.5% of Americans identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgendered (LGBT) (Gates, 2006). Understanding that this is the minority it seems reasonable to conclude that normative definition of marriage may well be between a man and woman. When we look at his premise of historical precedent I know of few stories of same-sex couples in history and it seems that this then is true. In assessing reliability the speaker is the co-founder and chair of a multi-million dollar coalition and has been selected to speak at many political and religious conferences world-wide. Lastly in assessing validity the speaker has made a fallacy in