Arguments about Gay Marriage: The Breakdown

  A lot of people have this strange notion that legally allowing gay marriage (or even allowing homosexual sex between consenting adults in their private homes) will pave the way for other sexual/romantic relationships that others find abhorrent.

• Marriage to animals
• Marriage to family members
• Marriage to inanimate objects
• Marriage between adults and children

So, for discussion's sake, I'm going to break these down and explain why gay marriage does not encourage these unions, and will not somehow make them legal or acceptable.

• Marriage to Animals: In this country (I am writing from America), we frown on any unions of any type that are not consensual. This can be classified as rape or slavery. We do not yet have a way to coherently and completely communicate with species outside our own, since humans evolved with a spoken language. Even if two humans speak different languages, there are ways of translating for each of them adequately so that they can understand the others desires. Humans do NOT have this capability with non-human life forms. Since there is no way for a human and non-human to reach an agreement, no choices or unions are consensual. This union would be slavery/rape, which is abhorrent to nearly all peoples of Earth, and is a punishable offense in Western culture.
• Marriage to Family Members: Incestuous relationships are RARELY voluntary and consensual, usually taking place when a person has power over a younger/infirm family member that cannot (for various reasons) resist their advances or wishes. We also know that human beings are hard wired to find family members unappealing sexually. This is because, like most life forms, we wish to diversify our genetics and create stronger beings after us, not distill our familial short comings. Again, any instance of forced union is rape. Any instance of having sexual contact with someone incapable of consenting is rape/sexual assault. So we can safely say that forced, incestuous pairings will remain illegal and taboo. (I am not going to comment on adult consensual incest. I simply do not have time or desire to do so.)
• Marriage to Inanimate Objects: I don't even understand why this comes up in debates or smear campaigns, but I have seen it. All I really have to say here is that there are already people in devoted relationships (and yes, even marriages) to inanimate objects. For example Erika La Tour Eiffel is married to the Eiffel Tower. She has a condition known as Objectum Sexuality. There are approximately 40 OS people in the world (all women) that identify as OS. These people are not doing anyone harm - certainly taking a guitar or statue of a building to bed with you is no different that adult aides designed for that purpose. Erika has changed her name to reflect her bond, and visits her Tower when she can. At home, she has pictures and replicas of her beloved. This is a victimless crime, as these women are attached to inanimate objects. I'm sure that you have a favorite song, or pair of shoes, or you love your car a little more than your friends think is normal. But you are not hurting anyone, and neither are they.
• Marriage between Adults and Children: This is pretty much the same argument I've made before, but I feel that I can expand on it. In Western society, children stay children until they are around 18-20 years of age, and most are not expected to have moved out, gotten jobs, or found a partner yet. This is because in our society, education persists through the teen years, children are allowed to live in their family homes longer, and American daughters are not "married off" as soon as they are physically mature. As such, Western children's minds and knowledge are not complete enough to handle many issues until much later than other parts of the world. It could even be argued that there is more to learn for children of developed, advanced cultures. Knowledge of banking systems, how to succeed in business, continued education to specialize in whatever they desire... Simply put, they are children longer. Because we value education and personal growth for all our country's children, they cannot be expected to make decisions of a sexual or romantic nature until they are much older. They do not have the knowledge base or even enough understanding of themselves to make these choices. Therefore, all relationships between adult and child are not consensual. This would be rape/molestation, and we've already all agreed that forced unions are wrong.

What do all these points and explanations have to do with homosexuality?
Absolutely nothing.
Any questions?