Gay marriage is issue of rights, not morals

by Flor-Ala Staff

Comedian Lewis Black once said that on the list of things our nation should be worried about, gay marriage is on page six after ‘are we eating too much garlic as a people?’

The Flor-Ala editorial board’s opinion aligns with Black’s on the issue of gay marriage. We have more important things to be worried about.

In the U.S. alone, not to mention all international problems, we have unemployment, inaccessible healthcare, two expensive wars and poverty. Yet, one of the biggest issues being discussed is whether or not homosexuals can get married.

There’s something twisted about that.

But we acknowledge that issues exist because people care about them. If the U.S. cares so much about gay marriage, then it should be discussed-logically.

One of the most popular arguments against gay marriage is that marriage is only between a man and a woman. Religiously, yes. Legally, we think not.

A marriage is a union of two people. If the legal definition provides only for the wedding of a man and a woman, then the vocabulary of that document is an artifact of times when gay marriage could not be discussed.

Another wildly popular argument about the legality of gay marriage is that it is simply not right. The Flor-Ala editorial board believes that morality and legality are two distinct issues. The morality of gay marriage has almost nothing to do with legality.

What needs to be discussed is the fact that homosexual men and women have the legal right to be married, regardless of individual opinions on the morality of such marriages.

We must keep church and state separate on the issue of marriage. What started out as a religious institution has become a state institution as well, and any church that does not want to allow homosexuals to be married in their doctrines is free to do so. But our founding documents provide for equal rights for all, and our government has a responsibility to uphold that.

We are a nation that believes in the rights of individuals. Homosexuals have the legal right to marry, just like everyone else in the U.S. The issue of gay marriage is damaging nothing but our ability as a nation to say that we support equality for all of our citizens.

The Flor-Ala editorial board is completely in agreement with the lawmakers who recently legalized gay marriage in New York. The road to nationwide legalized gay marriage will most probably be long and arduous, but we are optimistic that it will happen.

The opinions expressed are the collective ideas of The Flor-Ala editorial board.