Defender of Marriage

The definition of marriage has been a hot topic in the past few years. Some people believe that marriage is a sacred union between only a man and woman. Some people believe that marriage is a union between two people that love each other, whether it is between a man and woman or between two people of the same sex. Other people have defined marriage as being an outdated ritual that should be tossed out.

The supreme court discussed what a marriage really was in the court case Obergefell v Hodges. This court case was very important to how marriage will be defined in America. There were many very good arguments brought up in this case. People who were arguing for same-sex marriage gave varying arguments, including an argument about how marriage is a sacred thing and has been an important part of society since the beginning of time, which is why people who are in same-sex relationships want to be able to take part in marriage. They mentioned different cases where people who were recognized as being married in some states lost rights when moving to other states and have suffered for it. Some of the arguments from the other side mentioned that we should not be changing something that has been going on for centuries just because things have changed in how society looks at marriage. I personally really liked the following quote from the dissenting side:

“The majority’s decision is an act of will, not legal judgment. The right it announces has no basis in the Constitution or this Court’s precedent. The majority expressly disclaims judicial “caution” and omits even a pretense of humility, openly relying on its desire to remake society according to its own “new insight” into the “nature of injustice.” Ante, at 11, 23. As a result, the Court invalidates the marriage laws of more than half the States and orders the transformation of a social institution that has formed the basis of human society for millennia, for the Kalahari Bushmen and the Han Chinese, the Carthaginians and the Aztecs. Just who do we think we are?”

I believe that that is a powerful statement about how the pattern of having a man and a woman married together is one that has been going on for millennia, and who are we to change that.

There are many people that look down on those who are against same-sex marriage, saying we are outdated, hateful, and narrow minded. Things are already starting to get a lot more difficult for institutions that don’t want to allow these things to be taught in their schools, or who have honor codes that don’t allow same-sex relationships (like the BYU schools). People are saying that we shouldn’t get government aid for tuition unless we get rid of these honor codes. Things are going to continue to get harder. I think that we need to speak out, and not allow our religious freedom to be torn down.