AGAINST Gay Marriage FOR Gay Marriage

1. MARRIAGE IS FOR A MAN AND A WOMAN 1. EQUALITY

Critics argue that marriage is defined as the union Proponents argue that equal rights must mean
of a man and a woman, and to change that would equal rights. A civilized society does not
go against natural law and risk undermining both discriminate on grounds of race, religion, sex or
the institution of marriage and the family’s role in sexuality and denial of marriage rights is clear
holding society together. Legalization denies discrimination. Gay and heterosexual couples
marriage’s central role as a step towards both deserve the legal rights associated with
procreation. There are civil partnerships available marriage – on taxes, property ownership,
for gays, but marriage is a step too far. In the inheritance or adoption. No matter how you try to
French context, the changes in the law will remove dress it up, denying equal rights to gays and
the terms “mother and father” from the civil code lesbians is homophobia.
weakening the rights of heterosexual families.

2. UNDERMINING RELIGION 2. MARRIAGE WORKS, SO LET EVERYBODY

HAVE IT
Gay marriage runs fundamentally counter to many
people’s religious views. To legalize it would offend Marriage is a successful institution and it makes
deeply held beliefs and further erode the key role sense to open it to as many people as possible.
religion plays as a moral bedrock in society. Since the beginning of history, couples have
Christian, Jewish and Islamic leaders have all sought to seal their love and solemnly bind
spoken out against gay marriage and point out that themselves together through marriage. Opening
it runs counter to sacred writings. that bond to all will strengthen society.
Legalization recognizes reality: there are gay
people, they love each other and they want to
commit to each other through marriage in the
same way as straight couples.

3. ALL RIGHTS HAVE LIMITS 3. FREEDOM OF CHOICE

It makes no sense to talk about equal rights in this The state should have no say on how consenting
context. If that were the case, polygamous or adults conduct their lives. If two people love each
incestuous marriages would have to be legalized other and want to get married they should be
too. There are always limits to rights. Legalization allowed to do so regardless of the colour, religion,
would be another step towards the mainstreaming nationality or sex of their partner. Love and
of homosexuality in society. Nobody is stopping gay marriage should be a purely personal choice.
people from loving each other or staying in When governments interfere in the private lives of
relationships, but that does not mean they can people, dictating who can marry who, individual
marry. freedoms are compromised with potentially
dangerous implications.
Same-Sex Marriage Legal Pros and Cons

318 81K

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark Obergefell v. Hodges (2015) decision, same-sex
marriage is now protected federally in all 50 states. In addition to Obergefellclearing the way for
same-sex couples throughout the United States to get married, unions that couldn't be finalized until
this very ruling may now proceed. The ruling ushered in many other changes as well, including the
recognition of marriages performed in other states and a more simplified divorce process.

While Obergefell dramatically altered the legal landscape for same-sex couples, citing the Equal
Protection clause of the Fourteenth Amendment, there still are somelegal considerationsyou may
want to make beforetaking the plunge.

Legal Pros

Children and Your Rights

If you plan on having or raising children, your status as a couple greatly affects your rights regarding
your children. In marriage, both partners have the same rights and responsibilities. Ina divorce, both
partners can seek custody and visitation rights like any married couple. Upon death, the remaining
parent automatically becomes the primary legal parent.

Absent marriage, same-sex couples can sometimes turn to adoption in order to gain the rights of
legal parents. While no states may deny adoption to same-sex couples -- as long as they get married
-- unmarried couples may run into the same legal challenges unmarried opposite-sex couples face.

Joint Property Rights

Marriage generally creates a presumption of joint ownership of property accrued during the marriage.
The presumption is the opposite for unmarried couples, where your property will be presumed to be
owned by whoever acquired it. Deciding which presumption works best for you and your partner can
be helpful in deciding whether or not to get married.

Death and Taxes

Marriage creates a legal framework for dealing with issues that result from death, whether regarding
property, parental rights or taxes. To create these effects as an unmarried couple, significant time and
expenses will have to be spent establishing a similar relationship by contract. Even then, some things
can't be recreated through contract, such as freedom from inheritance and gift taxes.

Another issue to keep in mind is the host of property-transfer taxes that by default don't apply to
married couples, but do apply to unmarried couples. It can make moving assets around in a cost
efficient way very difficult for unmarried couples.

Government Benefits

This is one of the largest reasons to get married, because the government provides a lot of benefits
exclusively to married couples. A small sample of these benefits include Social Security benefits,
health care benefits, nursing home care, and unpaid leave from your job to care for family members.
In light of the 2015 Obergefell decision, federal and state benefits are available to all legally married
couples in the United States, gay or straight.

Immigration

Typically, legal marriage is the most reliable way to become a citizen in the U.S. While even legally
married same-sex couples did not have this access to citizenship under the Defense of Marriage Act
(DOMA), same-sex and opposite-sex unions are now equally protected under federal law.

Legal Cons

Formalities

Marriage, for all of its pros and cons, requires that certain formalities be performed, which may or may
not be what you want. Unmarried couples can get together, and break up, without all the formalities
(and court hearings) required for married couples.

Dividing Your Property

One of the effects of marriage's joint property status is that if you divorce, regardless of who is at
fault, both partners are often entitled to half of the property accumulated during the marriage,
depending on whether the divorce occurs in a community property state. Note that this also applies to
liability for debts. As a result, many former couples become embroiled in costly legal battles over the
division of assets in divorce.

For unmarried couples, on the other hand, each partner typically leaves with whatever they
accumulated and responsibility for debts in their name. However, married couples have a right to
seek alimony, whereas unmarried couples may have to account for this in a pre-marriage agreement.

Decide What Is Best For You and Your Partner

Given all of the above issues and factors, spend some serious time with your partner considering
same-sex marriage legal pros and cons. If you plan on raising kids and you're ok with taking on the
other partner's debts, then getting married may make sense. On the other hand, if you don't
necessarily want to be burdened with the other person's debts or institutional marriage just isn't for
you, then it may not be right for you.

Get More Information About Same-Sex Marriage from a Legal Professional

Following the Court's Obergefell decision, same-sex marriage carries all of the same rights and
responsibilities as for straight married couples. But if you were previously married or have some legal
issues to iron out following the decision, you might want to speak with an experienced family law
attorney near you.
10 REASONS WHY GAY
MARRIAGE SHOULD BE
LEGALIZED.
"Marriage should be between a spouse and a spouse, not a
gender and a gender."
Hendrik Hertzberg

10. IT WILL DECREASE THE DIVORCE

RATE.

More than 50% of married couples in America get divorced. Studies show that the
US has one of the highest divorce rates compared to other countries. Allowing
gays the opportunity to get married will increase marriage rates because less
couples will get divorced due to incompatibility or infertility. Legalizing gay
marriage will decrease divorce rate because it cannot get any worse than it is
right now.
9. NO EFFECT ON THE
HETEROSEXUAL COMMUNITY.

Gay Marriage will have no impact whatsoever on heterosexual communities, just

as racial integration in the 60's had no negative impact on white communities.
This is the same concept with legalization of gay marriage, it will grant the LGBT
community a right that has been immorally denied to them.
8. SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND
STATE.

One of the major reasons that gay marriage is currently illegal is due to the religious interpretation that " homosexual are
sinners." Such a religious perspective should have no place in federal, legal matters in the US. We live a secular society
that maintains secular views. The Ten Commandments do not define our legal system, so why does the religious argument
"marriage is the union between a man and a women" keep so many gay couples from becoming legally married?
Legalizing gay marriage will have no negative impact on religion and/ or the religious view of others, just as religion
should not have any impact on the issue of gay marriage.

7. IT'S AN ISSUE OF EQUAL RIGHTS.

In the 50's, interracial marriage was illegal. But now, modern society understands
this to be an unjust law that denied equal rights to couples who loved each other.
The issue of gay marriage is no different. Denying marriage to two individuals
who love each other is to deny them a fundamental freedom.

6. GAY MARRIAGE IS ALREADY A

REALITY.

In New York, thousands of gay couples have already gotten married. Manhattan
is expecting $9 million revenue during the first year that marriage was legalized.
Sure, the economic boost is a plus..but the reality is that millions of gay partners
already practice monogamous. loving relationships in the United States. The
trouble is that they are not legally protected as married couples, even though
their lifestyle mimics marriage! Gays already practice marriage in their homes, so
whats wrong with granting the LGBT community the rights they deserve?

5. BECAUSE CIVIL UNIONS ARE NOT

THE SAME.
Gay couples are legally allowed to enter into civil union partnership.. but this is
not nearly the same thing as marriage. Marriage licenses grant innumerable
rights to married couples, rights that are not endowed to gay couples in civil
unions. It is no excuse to deem that gay marriage is not necessary because "they
already have civil unions...why do they want more?" The financial, medical, and
social rights that are associated with marriage are unfortunately kept away from
homosexual couples.

4. IT WILL DIMINISH YOUTH SUICIDE.

One of the main reasons why teenagers are commit suicide are due to the child
being bullied at their school as a result of his/her sexual orientation. The same
acceptance that will come about due to legalizing gay marriage will show teens
that homosexuality is accepted and respected in society. We need to explain to
younger generations that being different is not a social disability, so that they will
never feel the need to take their own lives because they are gay.

3. HOSPITAL VISITATION & MEDICAL

RIGHTS.
Its hard to believe that in an era of imaginable technological advancements,
sexuality-based discrimination still exists. Hospitals cannot legally allow gay
partners to receive medical information about their condition without a blood
relative present. Legalizing gay marriage will allow gay couples hospital visitation
rights and respect the validity of their marriage by letting them make medical
decisions on behalf of their spouses.

2. FOSTER SOCIETAL ACCEPTANCE OF

GAY COUPLES AND GAY
INDIVIDUALS.
Legalizing gay marriage will help establish a social norm that includes and
respects homosexual lifestyles. Couples as well as individuals in the LGBT
community will seem less "different" from heterosexual lifestyle, so straight
couples and individuals will be more inclined to accept homosexual couples into
their communities.

1. INCREASE AMOUNT OF CHILDREN

SUCCESSFULLY ADOPTED.

Most adoption agencies discriminate against gay couples and make it incredibly
difficult for them to adopt children. Many agencies will only release children to
"married" couples, therefore rejecting stable, loving, homosexual parents. By
legalizing gay marriage in ALL states, adoption agencies will be forced to grant
the same respect and right to homosexual couples. Gay marriage will increase the
chances for thousands of foster children to gain loving parents and families.

What the Bible says about homosexuality. What the

Bible says about marriage.
Q: Dear Mr. Creech:

What is at the heart of the position that the Bible is clear on the subject "that homosexuality is forbidden by
God?" I know about Leviticus, but are there similar passages with reference to women? How do you view the
Bible's (or God's) position?
Sincerely,
Susan

A: Dear Susan,
At the heart of the claim that the Bible is clear "that homosexuality is forbidden by God" is poor biblical
scholarship and a cultural bias read into the Bible. The Bible says nothing about "homosexuality" as an innate
dimension of personality. Sexual orientation was not understood in biblical times. There are references in the
Bible to same-gender sexual behavior, and all of them are undeniably negative. But what is condemned in these
passages is the violence, idolatry and exploitation related to the behavior, not the same-gender nature of the
behavior. There are references in the Bible to different-gender sexual behavior that are just as condemning for
the same reasons. But no one claims that the condemnation is because the behavior was between a man and a
woman.

There was no word in Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek for "homosexual" or "homosexuality." These words were
invented near the end of the 19th century when psychoanalysts began to discover and understand sexuality as an
essential part of the human personality in all of its diversity. Consequently, it cannot be claimed that the Bible
says anything at all about it. The writers of the Bible had neither the understanding of it nor the language for it.

There is only one reference to sexual behavior between women, and that is in Romans 1:26. The context of this
reference has to do with Gentiles rejecting the true God to pursue false gods; i.e., idolatry. And, the sexual
behavior described is orgiastic, not that of a loving, mutual, caring, committed relationship. What is condemned
is the worship of false gods.

Sexuality is a wonderful gift from God. It is more than genital behavior. It's the way we embody and express
ourselves in the world. But we cannot love another person intimately without embodying that love, without
using our bodies to love. And that does involve genital behavior. Sexual love is for the purpose of giving and
receiving pleasure with our most intimate partner. It is a means of deepening and strengthening the intimate
union that exists. This can only be healthy and good if our behavior is consistent with who we are and with
whom we love, and when we are true to our own sexuality and orientation.

In regard to marriage, it's important to remember that the Bible was written in a patriarchal culture that assumed
men were in control and women were subject to them. Marriage was not an equal partnership, but a matter of a
man owning a woman or women as property. Women provided men companionship, children and labor.
Certainly, love between the man and woman or women could develop, but love was not the basis of marriage.
Consequently, the biblical concept of marriage is not appropriate today. We no longer accept the inferiority of
women and superiority of men. We no longer accept marriage to be a property transaction. The concept of
marriage has evolved throughout history. Today, we understand it to be a voluntary spiritual relationship based
on love, respect, mutuality and commitment. What really matters is the quality of the relationship, not the
gender of the persons involved. And marriage is created not by religious ceremony or civil government. It is
created by the persons involved who make their commitments to one another. Whether or not there is a religious
ceremony to celebrate the marriage or marriage license to legalize it, the marriage two people make together in
private is real and valid and should be honored as such. I hasten to add that marriage should never be
understood as a requirement for two people in relationship. Intimate relationships must not always create a
marriage commitment. Marriage is a lifelong commitment that not everyone is willing to make or should make.
Being single in an intimate relationship is an honorable choice.

How do I view God's position on "homosexuality?" I believe lesbian, gay and bisexual people to be a part of
God's wondrous creation, created to be just who they are, and completely loved and treasured by God. I believe
God does not intend for any one to be alone but to live in companionship. And I believe God expects healthy
loving relationships to include sexual love. The Bible doesn't say this, of course. But neither does it deny it. I
believe this to be true not only because of the Bible's emphasis on the goodness of God's creation and the
supreme value of love, but because of the greater understanding of human nature that we have available to us
today. I do not believe that God intends us to live in the small world of ancient biblical culture, but rather in
God's larger evolving world informed by science, reason and experience.

The following books are helpful in better understanding the debate about the Bible and homosexuality:
• Blessed Bi Spirit: Bisexual People of Faith, edited by Debra R. Kolodny (Continuum, 2000);
• Freedom, Glorious Freedom: The Spiritual Journey to the Fullness of Life for Gays, Lesbians, and
Everybody Else, by John J. McNeill (Beacon Press, 1995);
• The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart, by Peter J. Gomes (William Morrow and
Company Inc., 1996);
• Is The Homosexual My Neighbor?: Another Christian View (Revised) by Letha Scanzoni and Virginia
Ramey Mollenkott (Harper & Row Publishers, 1996);
• The New Testament and Homosexuality: Contextual Background and Contemporary Debate by Robin
Scroggs (Fortress Press, 1983);
• Our Passion for Justice: Images of Power, Sexuality, and Liberation by Carter Heyward (The Pilgrim Press,
1984);
• Recognizing Ourselves: Ceremonies of Lesbian and Gay Commitment by Ellen Lewin (Columbia
University Press, 1998);
• Stranger At The Gate: To Be Gay and Christian in America by Mel White (Plume, 1994);
• Twice Blessed: On Being Lesbian, gay and Jewish edited by Christie Balka and Andy Rose, (Beacon Press,
1989); and
• What the Bible Really Says About Homosexuality by Daniel A. Helminiak, Ph.D. (Alamo Square Press,
1994).

Thanks for your question. Blessings on you!

Peace,
Jimmy Creech

Creech was a United Methodist pastor for nearly 30 years and has been at the center of the controversy around
the blessing of gay and lesbian unions in the church. Creech also wrote the foreword to "Mixed Blessings," a
Human Rights Campaign Foundation report about organized religion and gay and lesbian Americans. Click
here to learn more about your religious organization's postion on LGBTQ people and the issues that affect
them.
All human beings are born free and equal. Philippine law should uphold the basic human rights of
everyone regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression (SOGIE). Lesbians, gays,
bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBTs) enjoy the same rights to equality and non-discrimination as all
Filipino citizens, thus, our laws should afford LGBTs the same rights as heterosexuals, and should
not in any way favor heterosexuals.

The right to marry is a basic human right that everyone should enjoy - heterosexuals and LGBTs
alike. It is guaranteed by our constitutional rights to equality, equal protection of the law, privacy,
religion and belief.

It is an injustice to afford the benefits of marriage to heterosexuals and deny the same to LGBTs. The
right to equality in marriage of LGBTs must be recognized by Philippine law to afford them the same
benefits enjoyed by heterosexuals such as the rights to jointly adopt children, own conjugal
properties, intestate succession, migrate, avail of tax exemption, and avail of benefits related to
insurance, social security, medical, hospitalization, next-of-kin, burial, among others.

Don't discriminate

interviewed many lesbian women in same-sex relationships who are supporting the children of their
lesbian partners while the former male partners of their lesbian partners deliberately fail to provide
support to their children.

To me, these lesbian women providing support to their lesbian partners and their partner’s children
are heroes, and yet our laws fail to recognize their basic right to marry.

SC sets oral argument on same-

sex marriage
By: Tetch Torres-Tupas - Reporter / @T2TupasINQ
INQUIRER.net / 04:47 PM March 06, 2018

The Supreme Court on Tuesday announced that it will conduct a debate on whether to abolish the
prohibition under the Family Code and allow same-sex marriages in the Philippines.

High Court’s Information Chief Atty. Theodore Te said an oral argument on the matter is set on June
19, 2018.
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“The petition is one for certiorari and prohibition challenging certain provisions of the Family Code
on marriage where they impact on ‘same-sex’ marriages,” Te said at a press conference.

The petition was filed in 2015 by Atty. Jesus Nicardo M. Falcis III who identifies himself as “openly
gay.” His petition was filed a few days after the US Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage.

Falcis urged the high court to nullify Articles 1 and 2 of the Family Code as well as Articles 46 (4)
and 55 (6) of the same law.

Articles 1 and 2 limited marriages between man and woman while Articles 46(4) and 55 (6) mentions
lesbianism or homosexuality as grounds for annulment and legal separation.

READ: SC asked to allow same-sex marriage

A few days after the US Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, the Philippine Supreme Court
acted on the petition that seeks to abolish the prohibition under the Family Code and allow same-sex
marriages in the country.

The petitioner said the Family Code in limiting marriage between man and woman is unconstitutional
because it deprives his right to liberty without substantive due process of law, the equal protection of
the laws and also violated Section 3(1) Article 15 of the 1987 Constitution.

He explained that the State’s interest is to protect marriage as the foundation of the family.

“The 1987 Constitution does not define marriage solely as between man and woman,” Falcis argued.
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The Family Code, according to Falcis, does not require married individuals to procreate or have the
ability to procreate. He added that there is also no law prohibiting homosexuals to adopt a child.

But government lawyers, led by then Solicitor General Florin Hilbay, said the petition was
“intrinsically flawed”

He said even law students would know that such reason is not enough justification for impugning the
constitutionality of Articles 1, 2, 46(4) and 55(6) of the Family Code.

“This is an invitation to a debate or coffee-shop conversation, not a constitutional litigation,” Hilbay

said. /je
Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/973238/sc-sets-oral-argument-on-same-sex-marriage#ixzz5SjuBVE00
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