Gay/lesbian
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Gay unions hardly hurt institution of marriage as some fear
Relish File Photo
Frank Benedetti (left) with his partner of 44 years, Gary Trowbridge.
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Published: July 10, 2008
Updated: 07/09/2008 09:00 pm
Last month the Winston-Salem Journal ran a survey on same-gender marriage. It showed that same-gender marriage was opposed by 66 percent of the survey participants -- mostly on a "religious" basis.
At the same time, two senators introduced a federal constitutional amendment that threatens not only to limit the definition of marriage to one man and one woman but also to wipe out any benefits same-sex couples have that are found in legal marriages.
It is interesting to note that the senators who introduced the amendment are Larry Craig, who was arrested for "lewd conduct" in an airport bathroom sting, then pleaded to a lesser offense, and David Vinter, who was recently identified as a client of a prostitution ring.
Neither man is hardly a moral authority on marriage.
I am trying to understand how my partner of 44 years and I are hurting the sanctity of marriage by legalizing our relationship at City Hall. If current marriage is in trouble, why are we being blamed, and how has this become our problem? It isn't as if we would exhaust a finite number of licenses.
And, if procreation, rather than loving companionship, is the purpose of marriage, will childless couples then lose their licenses?
It seems to me that if marriage is in trouble, the causes are a 50 percent divorce rate, unlimited serial marriages, spousal abuse including murder, absentee fathers, cheating spouses, and drive-through Las Vegas weddings -- not loving, same-gender couples.
A recent Parade magazine article indicated that a Denver Broncos tailback fathered nine children by nine women. B.B. King fathered 15 children by 15 women. Lastly, how is marriage strengthened by making it available to fewer people?
I also read the Bible and note that early marriages were often contracts made between families that applied to children who didn't even know each other; women were regarded as "property," first owned by their fathers and then their husbands. Multiple wives and concubines were common; Solomon had 1,000 of them.
Also, in contrast to the handful of disputed verses concerning homosexuality, there are many more endorsing slavery. It isn't in the Ten Commandments or any of the Gospels. Jesus never mentions it, but he does talk against divorce. We ignore countless other prohibitions, so why seize on this particular issue to sanctify prejudices?
Marriage used to be defined as a union of two people, but only of the same religion and the same race. Wives were the subservient property of the husbands who maintained all property rights. Marital rape was acceptable, and procreation was not voluntary. Marriage has evolved through the years to reflect an equality of individuals.
I feel that we are God's children, human beings, American citizens, and we are just as deserving and capable of love as anyone else.
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