should gay marriage be legalized
It Violates Natural Law Marriage is not just any relationship between human beings.
It is a relationship rooted in human nature and thus governed by natural law. Natural
law’s most elementary precept is that “good is to be done and pursued, and evil is
to be avoided.” By his natural reason, man can perceive what is morally good or bad
for him. Thus, he can know the end or purpose of each of his acts and how it is morally
wrong to transform the means that help him accomplish an act into the act’s purpose.
Any situation which institutionalizes the circumvention of the purpose of the sexual
act violates natural law and the objective norm of morality. Being rooted in human
nature, natural law is universal and immutable. It applies to the entire human race,
equally. It commands and forbids consistently, everywhere and always. Saint Paul taught
in the Epistle to the Romans that the natural law is inscribed on the heart of every
man. (Rom. 2:14-15) It Always Denies a Child Either a Father or a Mother It is in
the child’s best interests that he be raised under the influence of his natural father
and mother. This rule is confirmed by the evident difficulties faced by the many children
who are orphans or are raised by a single parent, a relative, or a foster parent.
The unfortunate situation of these children will be the norm for all children of a
same-sex “marriage.” A child of a same-sex “marriage” will always be deprived of either
his natural mother or father. He will necessarily be raised by one party who has no
blood relationship with him. He will always be deprived of either a mother or a father
role model. Same-sex “marriage” ignores a child’s best interests. It Validates and
Promotes the Homosexual Lifestyle In the name of the “family,” same-sex “marriage”
serves to validate not only such unions but the whole homosexual lifestyle in all
its bisexual and transgender variants. Civil laws are structuring principles of man's
life in society. As such, they play a very important and sometimes decisive role in
influencing patterns of thought and behavior. They externally shape the life of society, but also profoundly modify everyone’s perception
and evaluation of forms of behavior. Legal recognition of same-sex “marriage” would necessarily obscure certain basic moral values, devalue traditional marriage, and weaken public morality. It Turns
a Moral Wrong into a Civil Right Homosexual activists argue that same-sex “marriage”
is a civil rights issue similar to the struggle for racial equality in the 1960s.
This is false. First of all, sexual behavior and race are essentially different realities.
A man and a woman wanting to marry may be different in their characteristics: one
may be black, the other white; one rich, the other poor; or one tall, the other short.
None of these differences are insurmountable obstacles to marriage. The two individuals
are still man and woman, and thus the requirements of nature are respected. Same-sex
“marriage” opposes nature. Two individuals of the same sex, regardless of their race,
wealth, stature, erudition or fame, will never be able to marry because of an insurmountable
biological impossibility. Secondly, inherited and unchangeable racial traits cannot
be compared with non-genetic and changeable behavior. There is simply no analogy between
the interracial marriage of a man and a woman and the “marriage” between two individuals
of the same sex. It Does Not Create a Family but a Naturally Sterile Union Traditional
marriage is usually so fecund that those who would frustrate its end must do violence
to nature to prevent the birth of children by using contraception. It naturally tends
to create families. On the contrary, same-sex “marriage” is intrinsically sterile.
If the “spouses” want a child, they must circumvent nature by costly and artificial
means or employ surrogates. The natural tendency of such a union is not to create
families. Therefore, we cannot call a same-sex union marriage and give it the benefits
of true marriage. It Defeats the State’s Purpose of Benefiting Marriage One of the
main reasons why the State bestows numerous benefits on marriage is that by its very
nature and design, marriage provides the normal conditions for a stable, affectionate,
and moral atmosphere that is beneficial to the upbringing of children—all fruit of
the mutual affection of the parents. This aids in perpetuating the nation and strengthening society, an evident interest
of the State. Homosexual “marriage” does not provide such conditions. Its primary purpose, objectively
speaking, is the personal gratification of two individuals whose union is sterile
by nature. It is not entitled, therefore, to the protection the State extends to true
marriage. It Imposes Its Acceptance on All Society By legalizing same-sex “marriage,”
the State becomes its official and active promoter. The State calls on public officials
to officiate at the new civil ceremony, orders public schools to teach its acceptability
to children, and punishes any state employee who expresses disapproval. In the private
sphere, objecting parents will see their children exposed more than ever to this new
“morality,” businesses offering wedding services will be forced to provide them for
same-sex unions, and rental property owners will have to agree to accept same-sex
couples as tenants. In every situation where marriage affects society, the State will
expect Christians and all people of good will to betray their consciences by condoning,
through silence or act, an attack on the natural order and Christian morality. It
Is the Cutting Edge of the Sexual Revolution In the 1960s, society was pressured to
accept all kinds of immoral sexual relationships between men and women. Today we are
seeing a new sexual revolution where society is being asked to accept sodomy and same-sex
“marriage.” If homosexual “marriage” is universally accepted as the present step in
sexual “freedom,” what logical arguments can be used to stop the next steps of incest,
pedophilia, bestiality, and other forms of unnatural behavior? Indeed, radical elements
of certain “avant garde” subcultures are already advocating such aberrations. The
railroading of same-sex “marriage” on the American people makes increasingly clear
what homosexual activist Paul Varnell wrote in the Chicago Free Press: "The gay movement,
whether we acknowledge it or not, is not a civil rights movement, not even a sexual
liberation movement, but a moral revolution aimed at changing people's view of homosexuality."
It Offends God This is the most important reason. Whenever one violates the natural
moral order established by God, one sins and offends God. Same-sex “marriage” does
just this. Accordingly, anyone who professes to love God must be opposed to it. Marriage
is not the creature of any State. Rather, it was established by God in Paradise for
our first parents, Adam and Eve. As we read in the Book of Genesis: “God created man
in His image; in the Divine image he created him; male and female He created them.
God blessed them, saying: ‘Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.’”
(Gen. 1:28-29) The same was taught by Our Savior Jesus Christ: “From the beginning
of the creation, God made them male and female. For this cause a man shall leave his
father and mother; and shall cleave to his wife.” (Mark 10:6-7). Genesis also teaches
how God punished Sodom and Gomorrah for the sin of homosexuality: “The Lord rained
down sulphurous fire upon Sodom and Gomorrah. He overthrew those cities and the whole
Plain, together with the inhabitants of the cities and the produce of the soil.” (Gen.
19:24-25) Taking a Principled not a Personal Stand In writing this statement, we have
no intention to defame or disparage anyone. We are not moved by personal hatred against
any individual. In intellectually opposing individuals or organizations promoting
the homosexual agenda, our only intent is the defense of traditional marriage, the
family, and the precious remnants of Christian civilization. As practicing Catholics,
we are filled with compassion and pray for those who struggle against unrelenting
and violent temptation to homosexual sin. We pray for those who fall into homosexual
sin out of human weakness, that God may assist them with His grace. We are conscious
of the enormous difference between these individuals who struggle with their weakness
and strive to overcome it and others who transform their sin into a reason for pride
and try to impose their lifestyle on society as a whole, in flagrant opposition to
traditional Christian morality and natural law. However, we pray for these too. We
pray also for the judges, legislators and government officials who in one way or another
take steps that favor homosexuality and same-sex “marriage.” We do not judge their
intentions, interior dispositions, or personal motivations. We reject and condemn
any violence. We simply exercise our liberty as children of God (Rom. 8:21) and our
constitutional rights to free speech and the candid, unapologetic and unashamed public
display of our Catholic faith. We oppose arguments with arguments. To the arguments
in favor of homosexuality and same-sex “marriage” we respond with arguments based
on right reason, natural law and Divine Revelation. In a polemical statement like
this, it is possible that one or another formulation may be perceived as excessive
or ironic. Such is not our intention.
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