Is same-sex marriage a practical consideration in this age of globalisation?

If you were gay,
that'd be okay,
I mean 'cause hey!
I'd like you anyway.
Because you see,
if it were me,
I would feel free
to say that I was gay,
but I'm not gay.

 

-by Avenue Q, The Musical

Society has numerous types of people with numerous kinds of preferences. With that, I believe that it does not matter to be different among all others. Homosexuality has been quite an issue in today's society and in many countries, whether to legalize it or not is still a question mark.

Marriage is the most complex of all human relations. For most people, it is still a desirable and sought-after institution. A whole set of desires and needs impels a man and a woman to establish a family and form a stable union. Most of us were raised with this belief and as a result it becomes our basis of judgement. It is therefore natural for the majority to find homosexual relationship ridiculously weird and thus unacceptable. However, it is due to this conventional conformity that those who are different - in other words, homosexually-inclined - are being discriminated against, receiving cold treatment from the rest of the people in society who are not.

Although it is against my religion, I believe that being gay is neither a crime nor a sin. Each and every one of us has equal rights. As such, it does not matter if we are straight or not, we cannot be denied such rights nor can we deny others their rights. Despite knowing this, until today, only a few countries have decided to legalize same-sex marriage. The question now is, why is it that many still choose to abhor homosexual relationship and think that marriage between two persons of the same sex is totally wrong? Don't these people realize that by doing such, they deny the gay's rights and opportunity to pursue their happiness, that by doing such, they are insulting them and hurting their feelings? That by doing such, they are slowly killing them? Don't people say "love knows no boundaries"? Then what is this whole discrimination against the homosexual people?

There are so many cases where homosexual people suffer from mental disorder that they almost commit suicide as they are not able to handle their stress from being ostracized and not accepted in society. Some even resort to having unprotected sex with many other male counterparts to make themselves feel better from being shunned by many. This in turn results in higher risk of getting HIV, and death may occurs. While it is true that most of the people who were diagnosed with HIV positive are those who were engaged in a number of unprotected homo sex, what causes this at the very first place to a certain extent is the behaviour of many individuals in society that maligns them. Many are unaware of this because they are strongly against the homosexual people. Now, if you proclaim that being gay is wrong and condemnable, then how can you justify that being straight is right and exonerative? Aren't they both the same thing?

Another reason why same-sex marriage should be taken into practical consideration is for economic purpose. It may sound ludicrous but it is true. Homosexual people who are ostracized in many countries seek refuge in another countries where same-sex marriage is considered legal because those countries will ensure that their rights are protected, and they will definitely feel welcomed there. As they become legal citizens of these countries, atutomatically, they will contribute to the economy of the countries and more income will be generated. There is another aspect to this, that is entertainment. While some people are not gay, they are not homophobes; they are not intolerant of homosexual relationship (writer's note: people like me!!!!!). These people tend to regard it as a form of escapism from the wholesomeness of their society, perhaps. Currently, more and more entertainment service that has some homosexual innuendos is being provided since the market demand of such service is increasing. Take homo comedies like the upcoming "Chuck and Larry" and the notorious "Brokeback Mountain" for example. Not only in the west, this view is getting more and more predominant in the East especially in countries like Japan and Korea. And when it comes to entertainment, it is all about selling and making profit. (Actually, mdm Loh, this 'entertainment' point doesnt answer the qn, but I just thought of writing this so X3 hahaha)

Many are against same-sex marriage because they feel that homosexuals are less incapable in allowing the children happiness. It is true that children whose parents are homosexual are at a disadvantage and suffer bullying treatment from their peers. This may hurt the kids mentally and physically. In turn, these kids will not be happy because they are always jeered at and told that their parents are abnormal. Also, having homosexual parents influence their lifestyle and they may turn gay eventually, and such is a bad influence. Other arguments include gay/lesbian parents cannot beget offsprings and same-sex marriage is against the principle of their religions. 

In countries where the cultures of the religions are very deep-rooted, it might be best not to legalize same-sex marriage to avoide controversies and strikes. It is true that one has to respect others and their rights altogether, but it is however very important to also respect other people's religions and their beliefs regarding this homosexuality issue. People have different views over certain things; such is inevitable. For moderation, it is best for certain countries (for example, Vatican which is dominated by the Catholics) to not taken same-sex marriage into practical consideration. 

Up to now, no one has been able to come up with a better arrangement than marriage to foster love and sexual satisfaction, provide for the happiness of children and carry out social obligations which traditionally belong to the family. If this is so, we can not deny the homosexual people the rights and opportunity to mariage and happiness now, can we? Yes, gay couple surely are not able to produce babies but with the advances of technology today, there are many alternatives out there to solve this problem such as insemination and stem cells. The only bug here is whether the rest are willing to readily accept homosexual relationship and agree to legalizing same-sex marriage or not.  


p.s.: I am so sorry mdm Loh! for the late entry!! haha : ) the quotes above is from a musical XD maybe you know them already but oh well if you don't and you are interested, you can watch the video hereeeeee hahha 
Other songs by Avenue Q include: Everybody's a Little Bit Racist, It Sucks To Be Me, Internet is For Porn, etc.