May 13, 2012 - Life As I See It - Gay Marriage...Is There Even A Debate?
by James Perrigo
I can honestly say I have no idea why so many people are so anti-gay marriage. It seems to be one of the few forums in which people are not called out for showing an obvious prejudice. If you call someone that is gay a derogatory name in the workplace, you get fired. They won’t even bat an eye.
When it comes to a gay person being allowed to be married, we as a people seem to be divided on what the right thing is. Laws get passed, then repealed on a regular basis. I
assume this is because people passing the laws are trying to make the
people in their district happy. My simple question is why do so many
people have such strong beliefs on this? Why is marriage the final straw? I
have heard people go so far as to ask “Why isn’t what we’ve given them
enough? They can do whatever they want, just not get married.” To anyone who shares those sentiments let me point out the
fatal flaw. For starters, we didn’t give them anything. Gay people have fought for every right they have. Nothing was “given” to them.
There is also a segment of the population that believes that “This is the way it is and this is the way it should be”. I’m calling bull on that one. Things change. It’s the natural progression. We get older, and hopefully wiser. There was a time when women were looked upon as the property of the man they were married to. Try and tell any self respecting woman today that you own her. There was also a time where it was fashionable to have slaves from Africa. You could do what you wanted with them. You could beat them, rape
them, cut off their feet so they couldn’t run away, or kill them for being too weak to do the work you wanted. They were your property. That was “the way it was”. We thankfully outgrew that. Someone had the common sense to see how wrong the whole thing was. I know slavery and being gay are different. My point is that it was ok to treat certain people a certain way and now it’s not.
There are certain advantages to being married both real and perceived that come with being married. When you get married, your spouse and your children can be added to your health insurance. Sounds like a little deal, but knowing you can go to the doctor without incurring insane bills is a great thing. There are benefits from taxes, credit cards, housing loans, car loans. If something happens, and you are in the hospital, immediate family can come see you. Boyfriends and girlfriends are not allowed. Beneficiaries for insurance generally have to be family members. Not your boyfriend or girlfriend. I am sure there are tons I am missing. All these are being denied to anyone who is gay that wants to marry. These are things we won’t let a gay person have.
You are not serious about a relationship until you are engaged or married. That’s what society tells us. Until then it’s someone you can just walk away from at any given time. Even if you are with them for five years, you are still just dating. So someone that is gay has to endure dating forever, and never getting to take it to the next level. A
couple can be fully committed and fully desire to be together forever,
but in twenty years, that will still be boyfriends or girlfriends. I know I am a better man because I married my wife. I am a part of her family and she is a
part of mine. I love her with all my heart. I can’t imagine feeling the way I feel about my wife and being told no, you can’t get married. When you find your special someone, you want them to be “the one”. The special one. Your husband or wife. We should ALL be so lucky to find our “Special One”.-James Perrigo
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