William Bennett Against Gay Marriage Summary
Andrew Carroll
Prof. Wesley
English 185
10/2/14
Critique of "Against Gay Marriage"
In his essay "Against Gay Marriage," William Bennett, a great spokesman for conservatives and former Secretary of education under President Reagan, maintains his conservative stance that allowing same-sex couples to marry would have a harmful and lasting effect on our society 's intrinsic values and, in his view, would stretch the "fragile" institution of marriage beyond recognition (409). Bennett, as the title indicates, presents a powerful argument "Against Gay Marriage." He argues that allowing gay marriage would change the meaning of marriage, the ideal of marriage as being an "honorable estate," and would have a large role in molding sexuality (409). …show more content…
Bennett makes many over generalizations about the impact the signals of legalizing gay marriage would send to teens. Bennett almost contradicts himself with the inclusion of the quote from Harvard professor E.L. Patullo, "a very substantial number of people are born with the potential to live either straight or gay lives" (410). Many people are born with the potential to lead gay or straight lives, it is a choice, and the legalization of gay marriage would not cause societal indifference, but would rather foster a welcoming environment for young gays to come out into rather than living in fear or shame because of the hate and repercussions of being homosexual. Bennett also over generalizes the findings of an article about teenagers and adults being interviewed about being gay and bisexual. Fifty kids and dozens of parents and counselors does not speak for the whole population of a country, but also shows the weakness of Bennett 's argument as it shows the lack of actual education there is in much of the country on the subject of homosexuality. Bennett also makes assumptions about how conservative parents will lose the right to teach their kids …show more content…
To have equality for all citizens, it is a right that will soon have to
Prof. Wesley
English 185
10/2/14
Critique of "Against Gay Marriage"
In his essay "Against Gay Marriage," William Bennett, a great spokesman for conservatives and former Secretary of education under President Reagan, maintains his conservative stance that allowing same-sex couples to marry would have a harmful and lasting effect on our society 's intrinsic values and, in his view, would stretch the "fragile" institution of marriage beyond recognition (409). Bennett, as the title indicates, presents a powerful argument "Against Gay Marriage." He argues that allowing gay marriage would change the meaning of marriage, the ideal of marriage as being an "honorable estate," and would have a large role in molding sexuality (409). …show more content…
Bennett makes many over generalizations about the impact the signals of legalizing gay marriage would send to teens. Bennett almost contradicts himself with the inclusion of the quote from Harvard professor E.L. Patullo, "a very substantial number of people are born with the potential to live either straight or gay lives" (410). Many people are born with the potential to lead gay or straight lives, it is a choice, and the legalization of gay marriage would not cause societal indifference, but would rather foster a welcoming environment for young gays to come out into rather than living in fear or shame because of the hate and repercussions of being homosexual. Bennett also over generalizes the findings of an article about teenagers and adults being interviewed about being gay and bisexual. Fifty kids and dozens of parents and counselors does not speak for the whole population of a country, but also shows the weakness of Bennett 's argument as it shows the lack of actual education there is in much of the country on the subject of homosexuality. Bennett also makes assumptions about how conservative parents will lose the right to teach their kids …show more content…
To have equality for all citizens, it is a right that will soon have to