Opinions on Same Sex Marriage (Essay Sample)

Same Sex Marriage
Marriage is both key and central in the human society. Travel throughout the world to any country or region and you will witness people from different races, religion and social classes getting married. People will get married for different reasons. Some will do it because their culture demands it, some will do it to ensure the continuity of their family lines while others will aspire to get married in pursuit of companionship and happiness. Therefore being told ‘‘you cannot get married’’ is to be excluded from one of the most defining moments in a human’s life cycle (Nussbaum).
Same sex marriage is among the hot topics in most countries – perhaps the hottest. This is probably because the issue has not been incorporated into the constitutions for most countries around the world and hence the courts cannot list same sex marriages as either legal or illegal. However, in the developing countries and some of the developed countries, marriage certificates are issued by the government and so whether a same-sex couple gets married in church or in their religious group, they will not be issued with a marriage certificate and will therefore be deemed unmarried. The government acts as the final authority in determining who may or may not get married (Bary 135). This involvement of the government in marital issues raises important questions about democratic rights and equality among the citizens of a nation.
Marriage is not a single thing. It houses aspects such as: love, companionship, friendship, sexual relations and procreation. However, all these aspects do not need to be present for marriage to exist. For example, there are infertile couples who lead very happy lives. But what evokes the same-sex marriage debate? It’s not whether the same-sex relationships involve all the aspects of marriage. Very few people would deny that gays and lesbians are incapable of friendship and sexual intimacy. In developing countries, the public debate is about religious and cultural aspects of marriage while in the developed countries it is about civil rights and stigmatization. In most developing countries of Africa, same-sex marriages are a challenge to the moral fabric and cultural integrity of African cultures which always advocate for children after marriage (Dlamini 131). In the developed countries, homosexuality has been a companion of industrialization and civilization and hence there has been some degrees of accommodation and tolerance over time.
With modernization, gay and lesbians rights movements have emerged and their main aim is to encourage the public to embrace gays and lesbians by acknowledging marriage as a basic civil right. They advocate that the prohibition of issuing marriage certificates to same-sex couples is a form of gender-based discrimination and that it violates the constitution. Some movements also fight for the inclusion of gays and lesbians in the political systems and governing bodies of countries. Unfortunately, such social movements not only serve to mobilize supporters of such rights but they also energize counter-movements including conservative religious organizations (Franke 244). The main issue is therefore to present a common argument so that we can dialogue about how to reconcile the social, political and cultural issues surrounding same-sex marriages.
Every person deserves dignity and not extending this violates basic humanity. Same-sex marriages do not define someone’s identity, it only comprises one aspect o