Gay Rights

A homosexual is defined as someone who is sexually attracted to other persons of the same sex. They exist in all classes, social groups, races, positions, and countries, regardless of their age or origin. As far as historians can trace back the past, homosexuals have always been in existence, including Julius Caesar, Plato, and Alexander the Great. Gays have existed for as long as history, but it is only until recently that being gay has actually become a socially acceptable thing. Throughout history, gays have been the victim of an onslaught of discrimination. Gays did not always have equal legal rights, were refused jobs and were subject to violence and harassment. Being gay was a dangerous thing so many people were afraid to come out. Same-sex marriage is a legally or socially recognized marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. As of the Marriage Act 1961, the Australian definition of marriage is the union between a man and a woman. Currently, same-sex marriages are not permitted under Australian federal law and unions between same-sex couples entered into outside the country are not to be recognized as marriage in Australia. In November 2008, Parliament passed laws that recognized same-sex couples in federal law, offering them the same rights as unmarried heterosexual couples in areas such as taxation, social security and health, aged care and employment. This means that same-sex couples who can prove they are in a legitimate relationship have most of the rights of married couples since 1 July 2009. While this is not marriage, they are granted most of the same legal rights. The issue now is whether or not a gay couple should be able to enter into the union of marriage and gain all the exact same benefits and legal rights as a straight couple would.

Gay rights did not always have many supporters. In the past, almost no one spoke out for the equal treatment of homosexuals. Although gays have existed ever since the beginning of recorded history it was not until the 1970’s that a large organized movement for the gay rights began. The Stonewall Riots are considered to be the first time in history that homosexuals fought back against a government-sponsored system that persecuted against sexual minorities and the event that started the gay rights movement around the world. The Stonewall Inn became a gay bar in 1966 after it had been a restaurant and night club for heterosexuals. It was the only bar in New York where gay men were allowed to dance and attracted many people. Police raids were a very typical thing for bars, raids occurred on average once a month for each bar. During a raid, people would be lined up and would have their identification cards checked. Those without identification or dressed in drag, meaning men dressed in womens clothes, were arrested. Women were required to wear three pieces of feminine clothing and were arrested if found not wearing them. At 1:20 in the morning on June 28, 1969 police arrived in at the Stonewall Inn's double doors and announced that they were taking the place. About 200 people were in the bar that night. Police barred the doors and confusion quickly spread. When they started lining people up, men began to refuse to show their identification cards and police began harassing the patrons of the bar. As people were being taking out of the bar a crowd started to grow. Soon, 100-150 people had gathered outside and the situation became to get heated. Police started beating people they were arresting, a woman in handcuffs fought with four police officers and was hit in the head with a club. She was then throw into the back of a police wagon and the crowd became a mob. The police realized they would not be able to hold back the crowd as it had grown to near 600 people. Ten police officers barricaded themselves inside the Stonewall Inn. Garbage cans, garbage, bottles, rocks, and bricks were hurled at the building, breaking the windows. When demonstrators broke through the windows the police inside took out their pistols. The doors flew open and officers pointed their weapons at the angry crowd, threatening to shoot. Someone sprayed light fluid into the bar; as it was lit and the police took aim, sirens were heard and fire trucks arrived. The onslaught had lasted 45 minutes. Tensions between New York City police and gay residents of Greenwich Village erupted into more protests the next evening, and again several nights later. Within weeks, Village residents quickly organized into activist groups to concentrate efforts on establishing places for gays and lesbians to be open about their sexual orientation without fear of being arrested. Within six months, two gay activist organizations were formed in New York, concentrating on confrontational tactics, and three newspapers were established to promote rights for gays and lesbians. Within a few years, gay rights organizations were founded across the U.S. and the world. On June 28, 1970, the first Gay Pride marches took place in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York commemorating the anniversary of the riots. Similar marches were organized in other cities. Today, Gay Pride events are held annually throughout the world toward the end of June to mark the Stonewall riots.

There are many reasons why Australia should legalize gay marriage. Not legalizing same-sex marriage is discrimination. While same-sex couples do have most of the same rights that a married, heterosexual couple has, they are denied the same opportunity to formalize their relationship. Not allowing same-sex couple to have the title of “married” denies them equality. Marriage does not only act as an institution to secure the relationship between two people, it is also the social and legal recognition of the relationship of two people. In the past people of different races were not allowed to get married. This discrimination is no different that what is occurring now. What the Australian government is doing by not changing the definition of marriage is simply saying that gay couples and their way of life is inferior to that of heterosexual couples. Legalizing gay marriage will make the statement that there is nothing wrong with being gay and that they are valued members of society.
Same-sex marriage will do nothing to damage the institution of marriage. It has been said time and time again that marriage is a sacred tradition and its sanctity must be protected. But is marriage even such a “sacred” thing? Throughout history, marriage has been used to gain money, land, and social standing. It has been used as a political tool, the marriage of the daughter and the son of two lords was commonly used as a form of peace treaty or an alliance. Marriage is often not even a choice. Arranged marriages were a huge thing all around the world and still are in some places. In China, women were made to undergo the gruesome process of foot binding, they were then married of to someone whom was chosen for them by their parents. Then the girl would spend the rest of her life serving her new family and providing her husband with children. In many places and times marriage was between several people, or was simply purchased. Even before the 1960s and 1970s, the right to marry was denied to interracial couples and the mentally handicapped. Marriage is not a sacred, age-old tradition, it has undergone changes, good and bad, even since it began. Allowing gays to marry can't go against the tradition of marriage if there is no tradition of marriage. Allowing gays to marry will not only not harm the institution, but will actually strengthen it. In Australia, one in three marriages end in a divorce. In Denmark, gay marriage is legal. The divorce rate of heterosexual couples is 44.5% while the divorces rate of homosexual couples is 17%. When divorce rates are ever increasing, would it help to allow a group of people who wish to commit to each other get married?
Homosexuality is not an unnatural thing. No species has been found in which homosexual behavior has not been shown to exist, with the exception of species that never have sex at all, such as sea urchins and aphids. Moreover, a part of the animal kingdom is hermaphroditic, truly bisexual. For them, homosexuality is not an issue. Homosexuality has been observed in mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians, and even insects. In a study it was found that eight percent of male rams exhibited sexual preference for male partners. Male penguin couples have been documented to mate for life, and to build nests together and use a stone as a surrogate egg in nesting and brooding. In 2004, in the Central Park Zoo in New York, the stone egg of a male couple of penguins was replaced with a fertilized egg. The couple then raised it as their own offspring and showed it the same care that a heterosexual couple of penguins would. Birds have been observed to engage in homosexual activity aswell. 19% of sexual activity among mallards takes place between two males. It has even been said that homosexual behavior is an evolutionary advantage, that it minimizes interspecies aggression, especially among males.
Having two parents of the same sex has not been shown to have negative effects on the development of the children. Studies conducted by the University of Virginia involving children raised by heterosexual parents and homosexual parents found that when looked at with standard psychological assessments, you couldn't tell which had been brought up by which parent. What was also found in a studied conducted by the Birkbeck College in the Netherlands was that a non-biological lesbian parent was usually more involved with the child they were raising than a heterosexual father. Further studies showed that growing up with two parents of the same-sex does not have any negative effects of the development of the child. The sexual orientation of parents does not have any effect of how well the child will be raised, but rather just how good of a parent that particular person happens to be, regardless of their sexual orientation.
Getting married does not mean that couples have to have children. Many people would argue that gays should not be allowed to marry because they won't be good parents, while that is in no way a true statement, there are plenty of married people, both homosexual and heterosexual, that do not have kids and having children is not a requirement of marriage. Today, the global population is approximately 6,920,178,217 with more and more people being born every day. Opponents of gay marriage would argue that an important part of marriage is reproduction, producing and child and adding to the human species. However, as the world is faced with the issue of overpopulation, more gays might actually be a good thing. The world's population will soon reach a level where there will not be enough resources to sustain life as we know it. With an exponentially increasing population, the problems created by overpopulation grow correspondingly. There is not enough, resources and land to sustain the population as it grows exponentially. In 1960, the global population was 3 billion, in 50 years it has more than doubled. By the year 2040, the population will exceed 10 billion. Legalizing gay marriage would actually help the world.
Many religions oppose same-sex marriage and even homosexuality as a whole. The Bible, the Torah and the Qur'an speak against it. People would argue that this is just reason to ban same-sex marriage. This might be a viable argument if Australia was a theocracy. However the notion of separation of church and state is written in the Australia constitution and the government cannot endorse any specific religion or belief system. What peoples personal religious beliefs may be should not effect Australian law. These are the many reasons why Australia should legalize same-sex marriage.

The legalization of same-sex marriage is a big issue in Australia and the world and is subject to much debate.
There are many arguments against it's legalization. The fact that marriage has always traditionally been between a man and woman is a big one. Marriage has always been between a man and a woman and many people don't want to see that changed. Its argued that gay marriage denies the fundamental nature and purpose of marriage and that the main purpose of marriage as an institution is for the conception and rearing of children. Two men or two women raising a child is not considered to be a normal environment for development and may have negative effects on the child. Allowing same-sex marriage may pave the way for other unconventional unions. If same-sex marriage was legal, than polygamy may follow. Bill Muehlenberg, secretary of the Family Council of Victoria, stated that if marriage is no longer one man, one woman for life, then any number of alternatives seems to be possible. If homosexuals can argue that a loving committed relationship should qualify anyone for the institution of marriage, then other equally binding and loving unions should be recognized. If same-sex marriage is legalized, than the government may find itself in the position that it cannot deny claims from groups that are looked down upon in Australian society. Arguments used for legalizing same sex marriage could apply to legalizing incest, polygamy, and other unconventional unions. Australia could find itself in the position where its legal for a man to have multiple wives and husbands. Same-sex marriage is also against the belief system of many churches. Many religions believe that homosexuality is against the will of God. Legalizing same-sex marriage could cause many people to be upset and offended.

I, myself, strongly support the legalization of same-sex marriage. If two people love each other and wish to be officially recognized by the government and society, then it shouldn't matter what gender they happen to be. There really is no good argument against same-sex marriage. It would not undermine or weaken the institution of marriage, but rather strengthen it. Legalizing same-sex marriage would significantly lower divorce rates and would in no way effect heterosexual couples right to marry. Marriage is not a tradition that must be upheld, it is a constantly fluctuating thing that changes as the world does. A hundred years ago, women were viewed as the property of man and in the many years before often did not even have the right to chose whom they married. It was not until fifty years ago that people of different races could marry each other. Marriage is not a tradition and must change as society does. Same-sex marriage and homosexuality are not unnatural and do not go against the laws of natural. Homosexuality occurs in every species in the animal kingdom that has the ability to have sex. Many species are hermaphroditic and there is no notion of heterosexuality and homosexuality. Having two parents of the same sex does not damage a child's development in any way. There have been no credible studies that show otherwise. The only way a child raised by gay parents is at risk is from ridicule and bullying from ignorant, bigoted, prejudiced people. Child-raising is not a even a requirement of marriage, marriage is simply the formal, legal, union of two people. With the issue of overpopulation, more children is not something that is a very big need. Many religions oppose same-sex marriage and homosexuality. This should not effect Australian law. People are allowed to have their own, personal, religious beliefs but they should not be able to impose them onto other people. Religion has no place in government. What the issue of same-sex marriage boils down to is simply allowing a group of people have the same rights as another group of people. The reason any people are opposed to same-sex marriage is simply a result of years and years of prejudice, ignorance and bigotry. Not allowing same-sex marriage is discrimination, it's immoral and it goes against human rights.

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