Gay Rights Part 1
Jessica Power
May 5, 2010
Philo 5 Essay
I support the right of same-sex couples to marry. Homosexuality is not moral or immoral in itself just as heterosexuality I not intrinsically moral or immoral. Same-sex couples should be granted the same civil rights to marry as heterosexual couples. Denying same-sex couples the right to marry is a form of discrimination. If two people are in love and have decided to commit themselves to each other and then have that union recognized by their state and society, they should be able to.
It has been argued that allowing homosexuals to marry is equivalent to allowing fathers to marry daughters and men to have multiple wives. But as Alan H. Goldman argues in his essay “Plain Sex”, sex is not intrinsically moral or immoral. Only the treatment of others in sexual relations carries moral weight (Goldman 295). Sexual orientation is the basis of homosexuality. Sexual orientation is not intrinsically moral or immoral. Sexual orientation does not include the specific person or people an individual is attracted to such as a daughter or multiple women, but the general, overriding capacity someone has towards being attracted to and loving someone. It can also be observed and noted that both polygamy and father daughter relations are both forms of heterosexual relationships. By saying gay and lesbian couples cannot marry is to say that only people attracted to members of the opposite sex can marry. It directly excludes people who do not fall in line with heterosexual orientation and is therefore a form of discrimination.
In his essay “What’s Wrong with Homosexuality?” John Finnis counter argues that the reason same-sex marriage is wrong is because it cannot produce a real marriage because homosexuals lack the capacity to be “biologically united” through the act of procreation that is essentially the ultimate display of love present in a marriage (Finis 290). He goes on to say that even if a heterosexual marriage is sterile, only heterosexual relationships can realize their commitments to each other and homosexuality is a “threat to the stability of future marriages” for similar reasons as adultery (Finnis 291). However Alan H. Goldman argues that although sex is good, it is not a moral good in itself the reason people consider certain kinds of sex to be perverted and highly immoral is because it violates moral laws that would still remain present even if the sex was not (Goldman 298). Bestiality and rape are considered immoral sexual activities because they harm someone directly and also lack the consent of the person harmed. Goldman says “If not harmful, common acts previously considered abnormal might continue to be called perverted for a time by the moralistic minority; but the term when applied to such cases would retain only its emotive negative connotation without consistent logical criteria for application. It would represent merely prejudiced moral judgments” (Goldman 298). Since homosexuality therefore is not intrinsically immoral, the fact that it cannot lead to children through sex is irrelevant. Many gay couples can adopt and raise children through that means and many heterosexual couples who are married do not have kids and their marriage is not considered to be any less valid than marriages that include children.
For a moment let’s imagine an inverse world in which homosexuality is the norm as heterosexuality is now, and heterosexuality is what homosexuality is at the present. If you are a heterosexual person you have just lost the right to marry someone of the opposite sex. This is not the first time heterosexuals have had their rights taken away because of sexual orientation. In fact, in previous centuries many have lost their lives because of it and have experienced horrific levels of suffering and mutilation. It is only within the past century that heterosexuality has even become legal. Some part of your life you rarely take into consideration – like an accent from a foreign land or preference for one food over another – is currently being used against you as a way to deny you your rights and to openly be discriminated against. I think it’s time we stopped mistreating and taking away the rights of people based on sexual orientation. It is illogical and if any part of this situation is immoral it is the way people disrespect and discriminate against homosexuality.
May 5, 2010
Philo 5 Essay
I support the right of same-sex couples to marry. Homosexuality is not moral or immoral in itself just as heterosexuality I not intrinsically moral or immoral. Same-sex couples should be granted the same civil rights to marry as heterosexual couples. Denying same-sex couples the right to marry is a form of discrimination. If two people are in love and have decided to commit themselves to each other and then have that union recognized by their state and society, they should be able to.
It has been argued that allowing homosexuals to marry is equivalent to allowing fathers to marry daughters and men to have multiple wives. But as Alan H. Goldman argues in his essay “Plain Sex”, sex is not intrinsically moral or immoral. Only the treatment of others in sexual relations carries moral weight (Goldman 295). Sexual orientation is the basis of homosexuality. Sexual orientation is not intrinsically moral or immoral. Sexual orientation does not include the specific person or people an individual is attracted to such as a daughter or multiple women, but the general, overriding capacity someone has towards being attracted to and loving someone. It can also be observed and noted that both polygamy and father daughter relations are both forms of heterosexual relationships. By saying gay and lesbian couples cannot marry is to say that only people attracted to members of the opposite sex can marry. It directly excludes people who do not fall in line with heterosexual orientation and is therefore a form of discrimination.
In his essay “What’s Wrong with Homosexuality?” John Finnis counter argues that the reason same-sex marriage is wrong is because it cannot produce a real marriage because homosexuals lack the capacity to be “biologically united” through the act of procreation that is essentially the ultimate display of love present in a marriage (Finis 290). He goes on to say that even if a heterosexual marriage is sterile, only heterosexual relationships can realize their commitments to each other and homosexuality is a “threat to the stability of future marriages” for similar reasons as adultery (Finnis 291). However Alan H. Goldman argues that although sex is good, it is not a moral good in itself the reason people consider certain kinds of sex to be perverted and highly immoral is because it violates moral laws that would still remain present even if the sex was not (Goldman 298). Bestiality and rape are considered immoral sexual activities because they harm someone directly and also lack the consent of the person harmed. Goldman says “If not harmful, common acts previously considered abnormal might continue to be called perverted for a time by the moralistic minority; but the term when applied to such cases would retain only its emotive negative connotation without consistent logical criteria for application. It would represent merely prejudiced moral judgments” (Goldman 298). Since homosexuality therefore is not intrinsically immoral, the fact that it cannot lead to children through sex is irrelevant. Many gay couples can adopt and raise children through that means and many heterosexual couples who are married do not have kids and their marriage is not considered to be any less valid than marriages that include children.
For a moment let’s imagine an inverse world in which homosexuality is the norm as heterosexuality is now, and heterosexuality is what homosexuality is at the present. If you are a heterosexual person you have just lost the right to marry someone of the opposite sex. This is not the first time heterosexuals have had their rights taken away because of sexual orientation. In fact, in previous centuries many have lost their lives because of it and have experienced horrific levels of suffering and mutilation. It is only within the past century that heterosexuality has even become legal. Some part of your life you rarely take into consideration – like an accent from a foreign land or preference for one food over another – is currently being used against you as a way to deny you your rights and to openly be discriminated against. I think it’s time we stopped mistreating and taking away the rights of people based on sexual orientation. It is illogical and if any part of this situation is immoral it is the way people disrespect and discriminate against homosexuality.
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12:55 PM
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