Love = Equality

Taking a stand against the inequality of same-sex marriages is an issue I have a very strong opinion on as I personally have family and friends currently fighting for their civil right to be married! The definition of marriage in regards to the government is different than how the church defines it; however marriage is about a legal status expressing a relationship between two people (Moody, 2004). In regards to marriage being about a legal status, that means there should be separation of church and state with this particular debate. Unfortunately, that is not the case when people bring religious aspects into the government regarding sexuality and personal choice. The future generation of the United States needs equality because supporting same-sex marriage gives parents an opportunity to teach their children about love and accepting people no matter their differences. (Murphy, 2011)

My stand for equality derives from the Golden Rule: one should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself. A person living by this rule treats all people with consideration, the key word being “all.” From a Christian aspect the Holy Bible states we should love one another. And yet, good Christian people have a really difficult time loving people that are different from themselves. The Holy Bible does not state love everyone but the queers, but to love and accept all. According to Judaism scripture, people should “examine the contents, not the bottle.” When people are put into one category such as queer it disables an individual’s relationship. Personally knowing people that are in queer relationships and seeing a love so pure is real. Heterosexual couples are not the only ones that love. Through history people have preached love as a basis for all happiness, and never with mandates with a list of unlovable actions (Pearce, 2011). What does love have to do with same-sex equality? Everything, because love is about accepting people.

When people accept other people’s differences the world becomes a little better place to live. The next generation should be better than us. For no one wants to raise children in a society that does not support differences, especially when that society is the United States, a country that was birthed from diverse cultures and people. Supporting equality now is fundamental in bettering the future generations. Law professor Margaret Somerville has advocated her belief that same-sex marriage is harmful to children, with little documentation that supports her belief other than hearsay (Murphy, 2011). Same-sex marriage is not a threat to children, putting mandates on who others can and cannot love is harming to children. When parents tell children they will always love them, but if they turn gay all bets are off is hindering to a child psyche. Children are taught from a young age that they should be nice to people and to play fair, and yet parents forget to lead by example when they make a comment towards a queer couple that might be holding hands or kiss in front of a child. As adults, we should be taking that opportunity to teach children acceptance by explaining to children that love is love. It is a really easy concept for children to grasp, it is historically proven.

Love is not about applying mandates to people. History has proven that before with interracial marriage. After showing a picture of a loving interracial couple to an elementary student and explaining that a couple such as this picture probably could not marry 50 years ago, the student was dumbfounded with confusion. A question the student asked was why it took so long for the government to allow them to get married. The vote for same-sex marriage has gone on for long enough; I do not want the future generation to look down on this generation because it took so long for a couple that loves one another to get married.

Supporting same-sex marriage is fundamental for the future generation, and by doing so provides an opportunity to reinforce to children that love is love. Equality is about the Golden Rule, because at the end of the day we all want to be surrounded by people that accept us for whom we are as people and not despise us for whom we love. Children do not mandate love by color or sex, and if a pure soul such as a child does not mandate love, the question is; why do grown adults?


References Moody, H. (2004). Sacred Rite or Civil Right? (Cover story). Nation, 279(1), 28-31.

Murphy, T. F. (2011). Same-Sex Marriage: Not a Threat to Marriage or Children. Journal Of Social Philosophy, 42(3), 288-304. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9833.2011.01534.x

Pearce, D. (2011, November 14). I’m Christian, unless you’re gay [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html/2/