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| Fifty CSI students (25 males/25 female) were asked “Do you approve of gay marriage and why?” and were given the following reasons for “yes” and “no”: Reasons for yes: 1) It is nobody’s business/no one can say you can’t love someone: 8 girls, 8 boys 2) It is a matter of freedom/happiness: 6 girls, 4 boys 3) Everyone should have the legal right to get married: 6 girls, 2 boys 4) It doesn’t interfere with heterosexual marriage: 5 boys 5) There is supposed to be a separation of church and state: 3 boys Reasons for no: 1) The vows won’t mean the same thing/The marriage itself cannot be a real marriage: 3 girls 2) Procreation of humankind will cease: 1 boy 3) A piece of paper (marriage certificate) has no actual meaning: 1 girl 4) Society is not ready for this: 1 boy 5) No reason at all: 1 boy |
THIRD RAIL POLL:
Do you approve of
gay marriage and why?
You CSI students are a lot more open-minded than was previously thought. The stereotype of S.I. guys being the biggest homophobes has been erased from my mind, even though the three guys that said they were against it had some really silly reasons for thinking so.
As you can see, the various reasons given for saying yes to the question cover all bases, from personal to political issues. One male stated that people always talk about equality, yet most people are not always willing to accept it in practice. People are people, no matter what sexual orientation they are.
I am surprised that more people did not mention the separation between church and state defense. The pilgrims left England for social and political freedoms that were devoid of religious infringement. Religion should of course be tolerated, but it should have no bearing over the life decisions of others.
As for the reasons for being against gay marriage, I feel that the worst defense, aside from the absent defense, is that the vows and marriage cannot be the same for homosexuals. The vows can easily change from “this man and this woman” to “this man and this man” or “this woman and this woman.” We put way too much emphasis on words, even though they are just arbitrary attachments to concepts. This issue should not be about the words but the concepts behind them. People of all types get married every day. Child molesters, drug addicts, and adulterers get married knowing that they do not plan to follow their wedding vows, so what gives anyone the right to say that homosexuals cannot do what we cannot always do right either?
