"Gay Marriage Would Harm Society"

In this opinionated article, the author, Ed. Kate Burns, believes that gay marriage would harm society by compromising the "true nature of marriage." She starts off her argument by stating that, "Ultimately, the reason to protect traditional heterosexual marriage is to prevent the alteration of fundamental unwritten laws that organize human society," and that, "Without marriage, society would resort to a social order based on polygamy." Burns believes that the reason of why it is so necessary to protect traditional heterosexual marriage, is to preserve these essential, already understood laws that keep society in order. And that without traditional marriage, society would be organized as a system of polygamy, or the system of having multiple spouses. According Burns, polygamy would corrupt society. What I don't understand is how Burns can come to the conclusion that polygamy, which already exists, would result if gays would be allowed to marry. How does she know that? There are already multiple states that have allowed homosexuals to marry, and has their society suffered? No. In fact, more people are grateful for it, especially the gays and lesbians because they now have that privilege to get married. Burn also explains that allowing gay marriage will compromise the happiness of children because they wouldn't have that support and guidance of a mother and father that is essential to the children being happy. I wonder how "happiness" of a child would be measured because "happy" could mean something different to everyone. I also believe that it's very hard to determine if children of two homosexual parents are happy unless you've had the experience or at least know someone who has. And from what I'm assuming with reading multiple articles about this same author who's so strongly against gay marriage, I'm guessing she hasn't had that experience. Later on in the article, Burns made the statement, "... gay marriage would require society at large to gut marriage of its central presumptions about family in order to accommodate a few adults 'desires'." She believes that allowing gay marriage would require all of society to destroy the main purpose of having a family, just to satisfy a few peoples' desires, where the purpose is to maintain stability in society. I believe she is completely wrong in saying that gay marriage would destroy the purpose of having a family just for a few people to be happy. First of all, there are many gay and lesbian people in society, not just a few. And if gay marriage eventually becomes allowed everywhere in the country, then it should be their decision to have a family or not because like I said before, there are multiple definitions of a "happiness" just like there is on what it means to be a "family."

Schulman, Sam. "Gay Marriage Would Harm Society." At Issue: Gay Marriage. Ed. Kate Burns. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. Deerfield High School. 6 Feb. 2010 .