Teens Speak Series: Volume 1--Gay Marriage

I am happy to introduce the new Teens Speak Series.  The articles in this series are largely unedited and are written by teens between the ages of 13 and 19.  This series is intended to illustrate that teens form intelligent opinions about serious issues.  I hope you enjoy this article as much as I did.

Teens Speak Author Profile

Name: Leira
Age:  19
Grade: Sophomore at University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez
Major:  Mechanical Engineering
What do you want to be when you "grow up"?  I want to be a mom, a wife, a mechanical engineer, a psychologist, a writer and a role model.
What is your biggest annoyance?  The situation in Puerto Rico between the students and the government.

Same-sex Marriage and the Changes: by Leira

mar·riage   [mar-ij]

-noun

1.

a. the social institution under which a man and woman establish their decision to live as husband and wife by legal commitments, religious ceremonies, etc.

b. a similar institution involving partners of the same gender: gay marriage.

                                                                                     From Dictionary.com

  

Early societies needed to guarantee the continued existence of the human species. To do that, they formed an institution which they called marriage. This consisted of symbolically uniting a man and a woman for life. Once married, the couple's job was to have children. They did such a great job reproducing that we have overpopulated the Earth.

  

If human extinction is not a worry right now, why do people still get married? Reasons range from religious to convenient. Some believe that God's purpose for them is to get married; others do it to satisfy society's standards; and a few do it for money, insurance or citizenship. A well-accepted answer to this question is, "We are in love." After all, the Beatles said it, "All you need is love."

Reasons to tie the knot are not the only part of marriage that has evolved. The ceremonies have a great variety. If you were to get married you could choose between a religious or spiritual ceremony or a legal one. You can also do both. Each one has special requirements and different rewards and responsibilities.

Most of them, however, agree on one thing: a marriage is between a man and a woman. Some religions let the man marry many women at the same time. The legal system has even let a woman marry a dog and another a snake.

Yes, a woman can marry her pet, but a woman that loves another woman cannot marry her. Neither can a man marry another man. Only in eleven out of almost two hundred countries in the world have legalized gay marriage.

Why can't two people who love and are committed to each other get married? If the feminist revolution happened way back in the sixties, aren't men and women supposed to be equals and have the same rights? Apparently, no. A woman doesn't have the same right as a man to marry a woman. A man doesn't have the same right as a woman to marry a man.

Religions are relative. They believe in certain things and if the church you're going to doesn't agree to same sex marriages then you don't believe like they do. Maybe you should re-think you're religion. Or, maybe, you should accept that the fact that your church doesn't agree with same-sex relations doesn't make same-sex relations wrong. If they don't want to marry people who are the same sex, they have their right to. I say this, even though I know that "under the eyes of God, everyone is equal."

The legal system doesn't have it so easy though. Because of the separation of Church and State, the government can't prohibit something on the basis that it's immoral or against God's wishes. And if we're just numbers (Social Security numbers) then they don't have the right to choose who each person marries.

One popular excuse to prohibit gay marriage is that they are protecting the sanctity of marriage. Sanctity has to do with God which has to do with religion. Those actions go against the separation of Church and State. Moreover, if they are so preoccupied with the sanctity of marriage, what are they doing to protect it from gold-diggers, people that do it for citizenship or as a result of a drunken night?

Same-sex marriage has to be legalized and the separation between Church and State re-established.

Thank you so much for your wonderful insights Leira!  As always, comments are welcome but will be moderated.  Thoughtful comments and intelligent debating are encouraged.  Rude or otherwise disrespectful comments will not be published.  Please keep all comments respectful.

If you are interested in writing for Teens Speak, please email me at jenniferwelbornwrites@gmail.com for more info.