Gay Marriages

Gay Marriages
Stephanie Smith
SOC 120
Eugene Kaufman
April 3, 2012

Gay Marriage is defined as a union of two same-sex partners, same gender, and homosexual marriage. Gay or same sex marriages have been in existence since ancient times. There two types informal and highly ritual unions. The recorded mention of same sex marriage was in early Roman Empire. At that point, they were common like attending heterosexual marriages. These gay marriages continued until Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire. Then a law was passed that same sex marriages in ancient Rome that occurred hat they were order to be executed. In the 70’s they consider homosexuality as a mental disorder that you needed to seek medical attention for. Over 52% of Americans believe that homosexuality is a lifestyle. Now in the 20th century its consider as a life style that is very normal. More people are becoming very vocal about their sexuality. It has opened the eyes of the Christian community because more and more ministers/pastors/evangelistical people of the Gospel are declaring that they are homosexuals and have been this way for quite some time or since they were born. There is a parable in the bible that talks about Sodom and Gomorrah. This is very common and well know biblical story. Two angels were visiting Sodom & Gomorrah, which are cities, and Lot (Abraham’s nephew) asked them to reside at his home while they were visiting. The angels agreed upon the invitation. Before they went to bed all the men of the city, young and old, surrounded Lot’s house. They asked Lot to bring the visitors out so that they could have sex with them. So the angels blinded the men and told Lot and his family to leave the city before the wrath of the Lord came. The Lord came and destroyed the city including the those that lived there. This is how the word “sodomy” came about which is having anal sex with men consensual or forced. Although everyone is trying to alter the Word of God to fit their sin, wrong is wrong. In the beginning God created Adam & Eve not Adam & Steve. We as people are not to judge anyone’s lifestyle. That is their business! Things are to be handle in a respectful manner in the eyesight of children and other adults. The bible states in the book of Leviticus 20:13 that “if a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination.“ This was written in the Old Testament. In the New Testament God also talked about homosexuals in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, it states, “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived neither fornicators, nor idolaters, not adulteress, no homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified. But you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of God.” Allowing the same gender to wed in holy matrimony should be an option for them. According to the bible, marriage is a holy divine covenant relationship between a man and woman. Marriage represents moral values with person regarding their vows. Now, same sex marriages are prevalent now more than ever. Society/Law is making it appear to be ok and be open about their relationship with someone of the same sex. Now they have implemented gay rights and they have also conducted parades in various cities for their freedom to wed. Gay Marriages should be prohibited. It creates confusion among society, families, etc. The law in some states is beginning to legalize some things that I think are unethical like marriage, enrolling your same six partner on your health insurance with your employer, and being able to adopt children. Same sex marriages should not have the same privileges of a regular heterosexual marriage. Everyone has the right to whatever sexual preference they desire but that should be done behind “closed doors.” Another ethical problem that this presents is being able to allow them to adopt children. The typical family married or not has a mother and father or boyfriend in the home. There is a man and women that is doing the parenting. This is what children are accustom to growing up with both parents that are the opposite sex. We as parents teach and train our children this is the ethical way to do it. This type of behavior will confuse a child. This goes against any Christian values that the child has obtained thru teachers, family members, and religion. Statistics show that children that were raised in a homosexual environment tend to have homoerotic relations. According to Dr Sotirios Sarantakos from Charles Stuart University, Australia did research comparing primary school children in married, cohabiting heterosexual and homosexual couples. Children in normal marriages faired the best, and children in homosexual homes the worst. Children of homosexual couples scored the lowest in language ability, mathematics and sport. They were more timid, reserved, unwilling to work in a team or talk about home lives and holidays. They felt "uncomfortable when having to work with students of a sex different from the parent they lived with" and were the least sociable. Although homosexual couples gave their children "more freedom", married couples cared for and directed their children most. Children of married parents had clear future plans, while the children of homosexuals and cohabiters wanted to leave school and get a job as soon as possible. Children of homosexuals were "more confused about their gender" and more effeminate (irrespective of their gender) (Family Action, 2012). Allowing the same gender marriage couples to put their same sex spouse on their healthcare benefits with their employer. In some states this is allowed and they are not given any grieve about it as if they were a heterosexual couple. There are employees that may have insurance on their jobs that they may want to help a family member by adding niece, nephew, brother, etc. on their insurance. Now keep in mind the employee is paying for the insurance for the family member but they are denied coverage because they are not spouse or children. What makes the same sex spouse so different? They are not “blood” related, so they should be denied to. According to utilitarianism is defined as a natural way to see if an act is the right thing to do (or the wrong thing to do) is to look at its results, or consequences. (Mosser, K, 2010.) The act that we choose is the one which produces the best results for the greatest number affected by that choice. Utilitarianism implies that there is an obvious solution that which is fair and that which makes common sense (Mosser, K 2010). This produces the greatest good for the greatest number. Utilitarianism produced some challenges. There was a conflict with a sense of right and wrong. Sometimes it is not always easy to determine the “greatest good” according to Philosopher Bernard Williams ( Mosser, K, 2010).
Virtue Ethics is different from utilitarianism and deontology. Whether than focusing on the results, it was the character of the person performing the act. “Virtue Ethics seeks to determine what makes an act good, but what makes a person “virtuous” (Mosser, K, 2010). Examples of virtue ethics are a person possessing all traits of a virtuous person. Virtue ethics has resurfaced in the field of ethical studies.
Emotivism is a non-cognitive theory of ethics because it denies, among other things, that moral claims can appeal to facts (Mosser, K 2010). Emotivism is no longer a view of ethics that has many supporters. Like subjectivism it teaches that there are no objective moral facts, and that therefore 'murder is wrong' can't be objectively true. Emotivists teaches that moral statements are meaningless. Moral statements only express the speaker’s feeling about the issue. When an Emotivist says lying is bad they're giving the instruction "don't tell lies", while an Emotivist who says lying is good is giving the instruction "do tell lies" - and we can see that there is a clear disagreement between them. According to BBC, Emotivism has become unpopular with philosophers because the theory that led the Emotivists to think that moral statements were meaningless has fallen from favour. Less technically, if expressing moral judgments is really no more than expressing one's personal opinion there doesn't seem any useful basis for arguing about moral judgments. In practical terms, Emotivism falls down because it isn't very satisfying. Even (most) philosophers think moral statements are more than just expressions of feeling. One advantage of this theory is its simplicity: to evaluate an act as moral or immoral I just give a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down. The simplicity is gained by seeing that there isn’t a whole lot more to say here, for the moral evaluation simply is my emotional response.
Deontology is defined as ethical theory that place special emphasis on the relationship between duty and the morality of human actions. Deontology focuses on logic and ethics. Deontological ethics holds that at least some acts are morally obligatory regardless of their consequences for human welfare with deontological theories the central principle lies in the conformity of an action to some rule or law. Based on human morality, some things are just unethical period. I feel that relativism is very different than deontology. According to the book relativism is defined as the one’s beliefs and values are understood in terms of one’s society, culture, or even one’s own individual value. Relativism tries to justify the actions of a culture that were unethically. I could try to understand their culture but there is nothing that anyone could say or do to explain why female genital circumcision is right
Deontology is describes me better than any of the classical theories. Everyone should be held accountable for the things that they do. It gives you a sense of fulfilling he duty of a friend.
According to the “Introduction of ethics and social responsibility” ethic egoism argues that our moral evaluations should be made in terms of our desires and goals. Something that promotes what I want is regarded as right; something that interferes with what I want, or prevents me from reaching my goals, is regarded as wrong. The egoist simply says that you should do what makes you happiest, or, again, maximizes your utility. It is up to you: perhaps you would feel better if you gave the homeless man some money; perhaps you would feel worse because you think giving out such money encourages people to be homeless and thus not work hard. Perhaps you weigh how much pleasure you get out a snack at the game as opposed to how much plea- sure you get from helping someone out. Perhaps you think being charitable, and giving, makes you a better person, and thus that maximizes your pleasure (Mosser, K, 2010). The word ego is a Greek worked that means “I” or “self.”
Statistics show that for one month the city of San Francisco in 2004 issued marriage license to about 4,000 same sex couples. People from the United States and other countries traveled to this state to be married. In California 4000 gay weddings were held before the Supreme Court issued a stay preventing any further marriage until court hearing was held (LifeTips, 2012). One of the more unique gay weddings held was that of David J. Knight, whose father William Knight was author of the proposal to prevent gay marriages in the California from recognizing gay marriages from other states. Despite William’s proposal David married his partner of 10 years.
Studies also show that children with homosexual parents tend to be less socialable and have lower grades in school. The problem subjects are mathematics, language and sports. The children of homosexual parents did not want to work with others or in a group setting. They were not reserved and did not want to discuss there to discuss their home life. The children are more confused about what they sex is supposed to be. They are very uncomfortable with working with another student that is of the opposite sex of their parents.
In a 2005 study it was found that 60 % of all opposite-sex marriages in the US ended in divorce in the first decade and 80 % in the first 20 years. The divorce rate has been on the decline sine 1980, with 40% of all marriages ending in divorce in 1980, reduced to 31 % by 2002. The religious views of an area will have an affect on divorce rates. Divorce rates are low in Muslim communities, but are on the rise. In Singapore recently the divorce rate has risen.
The divorce rates of opposite-sex couples may not necessarily give any indication of divorce in gay marriage. Gay couples, having had to struggle to be married, exhibit a strong sense of commitment to each other and to marriage. Different religious and social pressures also apply to gay couples, which may affect divorce rates (African Christian Action, 2003). Homosexual couples also has the highest domestic violence rates of heterosexual couples. Domestic violence is a public health concern. Among heterosexuals, not only is it an obvious marker of a troubled marriage, but media attention and tax dollars to aid ‘battered women’ have both grown tremendously in recent years. What is not reported is the empirical evidence suggesting that homosexual couples have higher rates of domestic violence than do heterosexual couples. In 1996, Susan Holt, coordinator of the domestic violence unit of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, said that “domestic violence is the third largest health problem facing the gay and lesbian community today and trails only behind AIDS and substance abuse… in terms of sheer numbers and lethality.” The average rate of domestic violence in traditional marriage, established by a nationwide federal government survey of 6,779 married couples in 1988, is apparently less than 5% per year. During their most recent year of marriage, 2.0% of husbands and 3.2% of wives said that they were hit, shoved or had things thrown at them. Unmarried, cohabiting heterosexuals report higher rates of violence — a rate of about 20% to 25% per year. Gay Marriages is a really controversial topic when it comes to ethics and what is declared right and what is wrong. Marrying gay couples should not be legal. Yes it is there business of the lifestyle that they choose to lead. The statistics that have been described above are scary. Gay Marriages should not be able to reap the benefits of a heterosexual couples.

References

Mosser, K. (2010). Introduction to ethics and social responsibility. San Diego, Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu

Getting the Facts: Same-Sex Marriages. Familyresearchinst.org. Retrieved on [April
1, 2012] From the World Wide Web: http://www.familyresearchinst.org/2009/02/getting-the-facts-same-sex-marriage/

FAMILY: What are the children? (Homosexual Adoptions). Christianfamily.org.za. Retrieved on [April 1, 2012] From the World Wide Web: http://www.christianaction.org.za/articles/whatabouththechildren.htm

Utilitarianism Vs. Deontological Ethics. Equip.org. Retrieved on [March 19, 2012] From the World Wide Web: http://www.equip.org/articles/ethics-theories

Emovitisim. BBC.co.uk. Retrieved on [April 1, 2012] From the World Wide Web: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/introduction/emotivism_1.shtml

Gay Law Report. Gaylawreport.com. Retrieved on [March 19, 2012] From the
World Wide Web: http://www.gaylawreport.com/gay-marriage-facts-statistics/