MiNT, in an attempt to revisit our earlier publications, will be publishing pieces from older volumes of our magazines on this website once a week. This week we’re looking at “Won’t Shut that Closet Door” by Marc Cataldi. This piece was published in Fall 2006- Volume 8 of MiNT. This is the link to read the entirety of this volume of MiNT.
Won’t Shut that Closet Door
Marc Cataldi
One of the most loving couples I’ve ever met used to live across the street from me. They’ve lived together for over twenty years, and want nothing more than to get married. Why haven’t they yet tied the knot? They aren’t illegal immigrants or hardened criminals; they’re gay. Same-sex marriage has been one of the most controversial issues; many times the very meaning of marriage has been questioned. The benefits given to married couples are significant and denying gays and lesbians the right to marry is thereby denying their right to these benefits. It is ironic that other countries, like our northern neighbor Canada, allow same-sex marriage. Yet the great, democratic America, does not. In December 2004, Canada’s Supreme Court decided that “the definition of marriage has evolved beyond the traditional notion that it was only between people of the opposite sex”. It also pointed out laws that had been passed in Belgium and in the Netherlands recognizing gay marriage. Why do other countries accept gay couples but we don’t? In a July 2006 same-sex marriage case, the Washington Supreme Court ruled that “the solid body of constitutional law disfavors the conclusion that there is a right to marry a person of the same sex”. The Constitution does not allow for same-sex marriage. The court argued that keeping marriage between a man and a woman “furthers the state’s legitimate interests in procreation and the well-being of children”. Concern for children is an important aspect of this issue. Of course, a gay couple cannot conceive a child themselves. But they can adopt. Or can they? Adoption by gay couples has also been the focus of controversy. While Utah, Florida, and Mississippi are the only three states with laws prohibiting adoption by a same-sex couple, the issue remains: will a child benefit from growing up in a gay family? People argue that children need both a man and a woman during upbringing, and that children will be “influenced” by their parents’ “lifestyles”; meaning that, there is a general fear that children who are raised by gay couples will become gay. The fact is, there are children out there who are in need of a home, and there are gay couples that want to provide one. The Military’s “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy also discriminates against gays since this policy indicates that it is necessary to turn a blind eye to those in the service who are gay. Does being gay matter if someone is willing to serve their country, especially in a time when volunteers are scarce, and military recruitment officers are hard-pressed? According to the Washington Post, this policy “insults those who would serve their country even as it deprives the Military of their service”. It is ridiculous for the Military to want to exclude homosexuals from service. Are the same soldiers who risk their lives every day in the midst of gunfire and bombs afraid of another soldier simply because he is gay? Or do they think that gays are so incompetent that they will only get in the way of warfare? Many of those opposed to homosexuals will use the Bible as a source for their arguments. Perhaps the most often quoted verse is as follows: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them” (Leviticus 20:13). Standing alone this quote leaves little room for doubt to a literal follower of the Bible. However, how often do you hear the subsequent verses of the very same chapter of Leviticus quoted? “For every one that curseth his father or his mother shall be surely put to death: he hath cursed his father or his mother; his blood shall be upon him” (Leviticus 20:9). “If a man shall lie with a woman having her sickness (period), and shall uncover her nakedness; he hath discovered her fountain, and she hath uncovered the fountain of her blood: and both of them shall be cut off from among their people” (Leviticus 20:18). If one were to truly believe that people who commit homosexual acts deserve to be put to death, then he or she must also believe the same about those who have cursed their parents or slept with a woman while she had her period. Surely if this punishment were to take place, it would wipe out more than half of the population! People who use the Bible as a source of truth are ignoring what is inconvenient for them to believe, and emphasizing that which they are trying to prove, creating an invalid argument. The opposition to the gay community’s right to marry, adopt children, and serve in the military are similar to the discrimination faced by African-Americans, women, and other minorities throughout America’s history. Like the blacks who fought for freedom and the women who fought for equality, gays are beginning to fight back. With shows such as “Will & Grace”, which features several gay characters achieving tremendous popularity, and celebrities like Lance Bass coming out of the closet, more Americans are learning to accept homosexuality. In today’s society filled with violence, drugs, poverty and war, there are much more important things that the government should be focusing on rather than denying rights to homosexuals. It may be that society will always look for a faction of people to look down on, but there will also inevitably be someone fighting back against society, someone fighting for justice.
Sources: Farley, Maggie, and Carolyn McTighe. “The World: Canada can allow same-sex marriages.” Los Angeles Times. Dec 10, 2004. Biskupic, John. “Washington state upholds gay marriage ban.” USA Today. July 27, 2006. “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Follies.” The Washington Post. Aug 16, 2006.
Responses to this editorial may be sent to mint@geneseo.edu or comment below!
Picture- the cover of Volume 8 of MiNT
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