If You Like It, Put A Ring On It.
In a matter of years, gay marriage has gone from being a taboo subject to a widely accepted reality. The cause has experienced some major strides and has had some great momentum lately due to the states deeming the ban on gay marriage unconstitutional, thus, allowing the act of same-sex marriage on a greater spectrum. That said, the gay rights activists cannot relax and consider the battle won because there are a few hurdles that still remain. A few states have successfully resisted the court’s effort to deem gay marriages unconstitutional. In fact, Utah has been very determined to take the case up to the Supreme Court and as we have experienced in the past, the Supreme Court’s rulings are not exactly very predictable. Therefore, there might be a possibility where the Supreme Court can block gay marriages altogether. While that possibility is highly improbable, it cannot be ruled out.
I have been on record strongly supporting gay marriage but the way I see it is very different, therefore, bringing a whole new perspective to the issue (well, at least in my view).
The biggest argument that all gay rights advocates make to beef up their case is that the law discriminates against those in same-sex relationships. Hence, there is the inequality element to their argument. Now, I have been on record supporting gay marriage but my arguments are very, very different. I don’t think using inequality as an argument presents a compelling case that people think it does. Yes, it has a powerful impact when one uses the argument as a rhetorical statement. But actually, to me, the inequality argument is more hypocritical than anything else. The reason I say this is because gay marriage activists are mostly Democrats/Liberals (including the President and the party he represents); these are the same people who’ve advocated for a progressive taxation (unequal and discriminatory but without doubt the right thing to do); these are the same people who’ve supported lesser Medicare payments to people who are considerably better off (again, unequal and discriminatory but definitely the right thing to do). Don’t get me wrong, I am not arguing that these discriminatory measures to be unfair by any means but they sure as hell don’t scream equality. These examples are just the ones on top of my head but they do indicate that the American society has never been about equality, in other words, discriminatory towards certain groups has always been a part of the society. So how can the people who’ve very vocally advocated discriminatory attitude towards other groups now have the audacity to ask to be treated equally? People cannot just pick and choose parts of certain laws that should be equal across the board, because if they do, then that’s utterly selfish and in my eyes, hypocritical. As a result, the credibility and the respect I have for them take a hit, a big hit.
From my perspective, the gay marriage shouldn’t be about equality at all, it should be more about doing what’s right. This is the how we justify higher taxes on the rich. You don’t see President Obama saying anything about equality when pushing for higher taxes on the millionaires; he says it is the right thing to do (for the record, I don’t support higher taxes on the rich in a recessionary economy as these millionaires are the ones creating jobs…but that’s besides the point). Why the gay marriage argument is not framed similarly is beyond my thinking.
Secondly, the American Constitution is build around the principle of individual rights and freedom. Letting two consenting adults marry the person they love falls under the umbrella of exactly that, individual rights and freedom of choice. And, like any heterosexual marriage, gay marriage doesn’t have a negative impact on anyone – thus, eradicating the prospect or the argument of having negative externalities in the society.
Therefore, while I do support same-sex marriages, I support them based on the principle of individual rights and freedom of choice and not on the basis of equality.
