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The Purbalite

The student news site of Baldwin High School

The Purbalite

The student news site of Baldwin High School

The Purbalite

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Gay Marriage: Student Perspective

Two staff writers debate the ethics of gay mariage in wake of Pa., national court cases

Laws need to change with times
BY CASEY MONTANA

Over the years, gay couples have been denied the same benefits as married heterosexual couples because same sex marriage is still illegal in two-thirds of the 50 states, including Pennsylvania.

The fact is, opponents of same-sex marriage are out of step with the times. Stereotypes that were prominent in the 20th century are not acceptable today.

It’s easy to see that the image of the modern American family has changed. Back in the 1950’s, it was a Leave It to Beaver situation: a middle class family with two parents and two children.

The modern family image has changed since then. A family can have two moms, two dads, no moms, or just grandparents, and most of America has accepted the fact that the country has changed. It’s time for the government to accept it as well.

Many same-sex couples have been together longer than some heterosexual marriages have lasted, and they have been waiting most of their adult lives to get legally married.

If gay relationships are just as successful as traditional marriages, why not let gay people get married?

If someone in a gay couple passes away, the living partner does not receive all of the benefits that a living partner of a straight couple would get. Essentially, the government is adding more grief to the already grieving family.

The government needs to re-examine its priorities; there are many more issues in the world that need to be discussed, instead of fighting to delay what most Americans want on this issue.

When the Constitution says all men are endowed and given unalienable rights, this distinction does not and should not exclude gay people. The Constitution says that all citizens of the United States of America are free and are given the right to pursue happiness, which includes marrying someone of the same sex.

The love between two people should not be legislated, because in the end, people are people and everyone deserves the right to spend the rest of their lives with whomever they want.          

 

Forced tolerance is intolerance
BY ANDREW PRYOR

The debate over gay marriage is increasingly in the news these days, with the Supreme Court knocking down a key part of the Defense of Marriage Act this summer, and a Pennsylvania county clerk being ordered in September to stop issuing marriage licenses to gay couples. Pennsylvania is currently the only northeastern state that does not allow either gay marriage or civil unions.

However, much of the time the real debate has been clouded by unfounded accusations and name calling. Emotion has been injected into the issue of same-sex marriage. It’s very hard to discuss because of how passionately people feel on both sides of the issue.

The notion that all advocates of traditional marriage are bigoted homophobes is offensive to the many kind and well-intentioned people on that side of the issue. If gay marriage advocates automatically jump to this conclusion, then they are guilty of the same prejudice they claim to be fighting.

The Constitution makes no mention of marriage, which is why the Defense of Marriage Act is an important law that still protects state’s rights. DOMA protects states that do not support same-sex marriage from the opinions of other states.

For thousands of years marriage has been defined as a special bond between one man and one woman. Recently, though, gay marriage advocates have been attempting to force everyone to accept a completely new definition.

This new definition is based on the idea of tolerance, but certain people can define tolerance in a completely different way than others.

Many gay rights advocates believe that there is no choice involved in homosexuality — that a person is born gay. The evidence for this is disputed. Of course if people are born a certain way, then they should be guaranteed the same rights as everyone else. The problem is that, unlike a person’s race or gender, it hasn’t been proven that people are born gay.

Finally, some same-sex marriage supporters say that homosexuality is not a choice because it occasionally appears elsewhere in nature. However, one cannot compare humans to other animals. Humans are inherently different from the rest of nature.

 

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