I agree with your observation on the issue of gay marriage and how it is playing out in politics today. Both sides have seized on the issue as a lever for the everlasting left/right power struggle. Usually when that happens, the real issue and the politicized issue tend to diverge.
Although 'Gay Marriage' and 'Gay Rights' are not synonymous, they are intertwined. The country has advanced considerably in the area of 'gay rights' in the last few decades, to the consternation of many religious conservatives. I believe that these religious conservatives believe they now have sufficient political clout to block any further advancement of gay rights, and are using 'gay marriage' as that barricade.
However, I believe the conservatives are too late. One could make an argument that gays are deviants whose lifestyle is harmful, and they therefore should have NO special rights or protections. But, it's a little late to say that gays should have some rights and protections, but not others, by defining some arbitrary line based more on the timing of the fight than logic.
I've heard arguments that same-sex couples do not provide the right kind of environment to raise kids, for example. If that is really the case, then shouldn't those people be arguing that same-sex couples should not be allowed to raise kids? Gay marriage seems to be a 'horse-is-out-of-the-barn-now-shut-the-door' issue, doesn't it? Why allow such supposedly harmful unions, with kids involved, if they are indeed damaging our children and society?
I believe the answer is that the issue has been identified as one that the conservatives can win, and thus appear to be fighting for 'family values'. Although logically it should be a non-issue, given the current status of gay rights, conservatives view it as a solid 'flashpoint' that allows them to rally support for conservatives, get them to the polls, raise money, etc.
If you want to debate whether a same-sex family is somehow more harmful than a 'traditional' family, then we need to expand that debate to include other potentially 'harmful' families: single parents, culturally diverse parents, handicapped parents, latch-key kids, etc. Because I believe there are a whole lot of factors that negatively impact the environment a child is raised in that rank ahead of whether the child has two mommys or two daddys.
As far as my personal experience, I really don't see any difference in hetero and homosexual couples, outside of the differences you normally see between any couples. The ones I know are committed relationships that have lasted years. They act like...well, old married couples. The only thing that seems to be missing is that piece of paper; and, of course, the aforementioned legal benefits of marriage.
What couples do behind closed doors is their own business; I don't classify them based on their sexual habits (mostly because I don't care what they do). The nice churchgoing couple down the street might be in leather, swapping, etc. I don't know why we classify homosexual couples simply by their sexuality, when there is already such a wide variety of sexual behavior in supposedly 'normal' couples. Homosexuals are neither devils nor angels; the ones I know are remarkably like the rest of us. |
