Christian Worldview Concepts

A Case Against Gay Marriage

Heterosexual Marriage Supports the Proper Rearing of Children

In 1885, the United States Supreme Court felt so strongly about the importance of marriage to a stable society that it made marriage a requirement for new states to enter the union. The Court said, "The life of the state rests on the basis of the idea of the family, as consisting in and springing from the union for life of one man and one woman in the holy estate of matrimony; the sure foundation of all that is stable and noble in our civilization, the best guaranty of that reverent morality which is the source of all beneficent programs, social and political improvement."

Innumerable sociological studies support the claim that children are best cared for in a stable, intact home where both a mother and father are present. Although children can be cared for by single parents, the ideal is a two-parent home where children see role models of a mother and father. Children gain much of their understanding of what it means to be a wife, mother, husband and father from observing their parents.

Research conducted on the children of divorced parents suggests that such children often have more difficulty making gender distinctions than children in an intact home. They tend to be more depressed, have a higher incidence of substance abuse or chemical dependence, have increased incidence of illness, depression and developmental problems.

While infidelity is not uncommon among heterosexual married partners, the connection between homosexuality and multiple partners is significant. Monogamy is not the norm in the homosexual population. Despite the fact that AIDS has prompted the homosexual community to encourage monogamy for nearly twenty years, HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases continue to climb among homosexuals. Even the homosexual literature acknowledges that homosexual monogamy is fictional. In his book, Virtually Normal, Andrew Sullivan, who is homosexual, writes about the openness of the homosexual "marriage" that reflects "great understanding of the need for extramarital outlets between two men, more so than would be tolerated between a man and a woman." In other words, monogamy is not monogamy.

A lengthy history of marital infidelity within the ranks of heterosexual married couples attests to the destructive toxin of infidelity, even among couples with so called "open marriages." Wife swapping, swinging and other forms of marital thrill seeking have been thoroughly documented to have devastating effects on healthy marriages and healthy child rearing. The State should never be in the business of encouraging unhealthy behavior by providing it special treatment.