Guest Opinion: Legalizing Same Sex Marriage, Liberation - or Deprivation?

By David van Gend
11/18/2010
MercatorNet (www.mercatornet.com/)

The legalization of same-sex marriage means that children will grow up without mothers or without fathers. This is progress?

Gays are not second-class citizens but a gay man certainly makes a second-class mother. Two lesbian women may be model citizens, but neither of them can be a Dad to a little boy. The most serious objection to gay marriage is that it means gay parenting, and gay parenting means depriving a child of either his mother or his father. The gay marriage debate, at its heart, is not about the rights and needs of the adults, but of the child.

The 'marriage' of two women would deprive an adopted boy of his role model for being a man, and the 'marriage' of two men would deprive a growing girl of a mother to learn from and confide in.

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QUEENSLAND, Australia (Mercator.net) - Gays are not second-class citizens but a gay man certainly makes a second-class mother. Two lesbian women may be model citizens, but neither of them can be a Dad to a little boy. The most serious objection to gay marriage is that it means gay parenting, and gay parenting means depriving a child of either his mother or his father. The gay marriage debate, at its heart, is not about the rights and needs of the adults, but of the child.

There are already tragic situations where a child is deprived of a mother or a father - such as the death or desertion of a parent. Some broken families reform as a homosexual household, and nothing can or should be done about that. But such tragedy and brokenness should not be wilfully inflicted on a child by the law of the land.

A child needs at least the chance of a Mum and a Dad in her life, and same-sex marriage makes that impossible. This violation of the fundamental right and profound emotional need of a child means - from the child's perspective - that gay marriage is deprivation, not liberation.

Marriage is a compound right and includes the legal right to obtain children by adoption... The normalising of same-sex marriage means that gay couples will have equal standing with male-female couples for adopting children. The "marriage" of two women would deprive an adopted boy of his role model for being a man, and the "marriage" of two men would deprive a growing girl of a mother to learn from and confide in.

The sentimental claptrap that passes for debate on gay marriage would have disgusted even that old atheist philosopher, Bertrand Russell. Sentimental people speak of marriage as a right to a romantic ceremony, a right to have one's deep personal commitments confirmed by society. Although Russell's four marriages did not exactly make him an expert on the topic, he did have at least one good insight. He understood that society has no interest in passing laws about people's private affairs - whether gay or straight - and that the primary reason for the public contract of marriage throughout history has been to bind the man to the woman for the long task of rearing their children. As he wrote in Marriage and Morals, "It is through children alone that sexual relations become of importance to society, and worthy to be taken cognizance of by a legal institution."

Homosexual relations do not give rise to children, so such relations are of no institutional importance to society.

The biological triple-bond of man and woman and child is nature's foundation for human life - as with other mammals - not a social fad to be cut to shape according to political whim. It is beyond the power of any parliament to repeal nature and equate same-sex relationships with the inherently male-female project of family formation.

Yet inner-city Greens and muddled MPs are so out of touch with nature that they think abolishing a mother will be of no consequence to the emotional development of the human cub.

They are wrong, and any such legislation would be moral vandalism. They are also going against common sense, with 86 percent of Australians affirming that ideally children should be raised by their own mother and father, according to a 2009 Galaxy poll. Opposition to gay marriage is all about the child, and no parliament has the right to impose a motherless life on a little child.

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Dr David van Gend is a Toowoomba doctor and a committee member of the Family Council of Queensland. This article was first published in the Brisbane Courier Mail on November 16. It is used with permission of Mercator.net and the author.

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This article was originally published on MercatorNet.com under a Creative Commons Licence. If you enjoyed this article, visit MercatorNet.com for more.

Keywords: Gay Marriage, homosexual, childrens rights, maother, father, family

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1 - 10 of 15 Comments

Tafur
2 years ago
MIke M.,

There is no reason to list the arguments in favor of same sex marriage because there is no need to put forth an opinion contrary to the teachings of the Church.
All that would do would be to destroy the Roman Catholic faith. The proponents if same sex marriage do not present any opposing views.
Tafur
2 years ago
Neither. Same sex marriage is DEPRAVITY.
Stefano Genovese
2 years ago
Let us see if this comment is permitted on Catholic Online: the fault of the problem descrided in this article falls only on the CHURCH and the whole of the Christian Community who have been given the SOLE duty from almighty God to spread the GOSPEL of the only CREATOR. The CHURCH has been sleeping, derelict of duty.

When women decided to divorce for their own personal reasons: they get everything including the Children. Remarry and the biological father counts for nothing. So a generation of Children grow up with the notion that marriage and having children is like a TV sporting event or TV soap opera, When it gets boring just change the channel. When a new model TV comes along, relace it.

So what does the next generation of children regard their own children. Hurry up, grow up and get out. Sad, but this is true. Who could not dare praise men’s groups and political action committees like what Glenn Sacks has started. Glenn is not making a mint on a few monthly donations. His support has not come from the Christian Community. His support has come from hurting men and children from across the whole of North America, Britain and the whole of the English speaking world and beyond.

So why should over 50% of the population that has been a victim of the new found morality best described as---DO NOTHING, or what is also known as relativistic ethics can find any HOPE or expect any SALVATION from their plight from a CHURCH or Christianity when its representatives and members complain about the symptoms but never about the illness killing them off. Maybe we should take interest and seriously read Spe Salvi .

The CHURCH and the Christian COMMUNITY have allowed women to act like whores, children like property and allow Men to be redefined as clowns, useless toys, enemies of progress, escape goats.

Ahhhh....only to be like Jesus, if not just listen for a moment. 1% of your serious time, 1% of your thoughts per day...ahhh asking too much. Oh well....

ya ya, just blame it on Bush. Oh sorry, just blame it on Obama.
vance
2 years ago
Dr. David van Gend, excellent article. You are right on the money. The Liberals and Left-wingers that come on this website use the same old tired claptrap the Homosexuals are loving, nurturing folks who make the best parents for children. Does anyone have a spare barf bag? What they are saying is that sick and twisted sodomites are just great for children. "Just think kids, you can grow up sick and twisted like your two dads". Liberals, the failure of marriages and single parenting does not justify sodomite marriage in any way shape or form. Again all Catholics need to stand firm against this amoral assault on our society.
Anzlyne
2 years ago
Mike and Nadine
You are surprised that this Catholic site is teaching the same old thing again, yet you know this is still the same old thing Catholics have been teaching for 2000 years. Why be surprised?
Also Kitty
You suggest that we should be focused on the emotional and spiritual presence of a loving person or relationship surrounding children... you say to reconsider the children... brilliant! Consider the children; consider the importance of emotional and spiritual maturity in parenting. Consider that those qalities are more likely to be found in normally sexually healthy adults, neither disordered nor focused on their own gratification at great social cost to themselves, the children they acquire, and the society they live in. Consider the children. Please.
Kitty Taylor
2 years ago
For those of you who are more concerned with the physical presence of a mother and father in the life of all children and less focused on the emotional and spiritual presence of a loving person or relationship surrounding all children, may you reconsider the children.

How naive (or self-righteous) to assume that Mother + Father = stability, security, love, care, nutrition, safety and trust.

Should we, based on your argument, remove children from the homes of single parents? After all, can they really provide what you think they need?
Troy
2 years ago
Luke 20:34-36 And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage; but those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die any more, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection." - Reading from November 7th, 2010

Priest interpretation that I've heard and completely agree with, marriage does not exist in heaven because there is no death in heaven. Marriage is an earthly institution for child rearing, so the human race can survive.

Divorce is a terrible thing, but this article was not tackling that issue. I hope that Catholic.org comes out with articles about divorce, but right now homosexual marriage can and should be confronted before it becomes law and creates just as many problems as divorce.
Sally
2 years ago
People who choose to live a life of Mortal Sin (no matter what kind) are very selfish. " I " is their main vocabulary work. They only care about themselves. Why should we expect sodomists to be any different. Children's welfare does not count with those who are so self centered.
Mike M.
2 years ago
Why does COL only invite guest opinions when the opinions agree with their own? I mean, its just more of the same.
Irma
2 years ago
The child may wonder when growing up how he or she was conceived by two people of the same sex, it is like telling a child that the moon is the sun and the sun is the moon.

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