The Same-Sex Marriage Debate

With the success of shows like "Will and Grace" , "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and the daytime talk show, "Ellen", the American public seems more accepting of queer culture compared to previous decades.  However, Bush's use of same-sex marriage as a political platform to secure the votes of wavering conservatives proved otherwise.  Though it is undebatable that the queer lifestyle is being more and more accepted, compared to other Western countries like Canada and Spain, America is still very conservative in their views on homosexuality.

Bush's talk about including an amendment banning same-sex marriage during his campaign for reelection has been virtually unheard of after winning back the oval office.  However, with the mention of such extreme measures, those in the queer community felt anger and betrayal for possibly being singled out in a national doctrine.  This not only shows Bush's views on stifling a whole population of people, but also that he believes he is important enough to make changes in a document with so much history.

He talked about the sanctity of marriage and protecting the family unit.  Ironically, around the same time, celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears were going through brief marriages and anullments.  The "sanctity" of marriage does not exist nowadays.  The divorce rate is more than 50% which doesn't even include all the people that are unfaithful in their marriages.  Marriage should not be about religion or politics, it should be about love and committment.

The argument to protect the family unit is also unfounded.  Traditionally, a nuclear family includes a mother and father.  However, now a days, it is hard to protect America's children from learning or experiencing domestic problems firsthand.  A lot of parents are divorced, going through custody battles, dealing with alimony problems, having passionate arguments, deal with domestic violence, or raising children as single parents.  The idea that preventing same sex marriage will protect the family unit is preposterous.