The case for same-sex marriage

Same-sex marriage is a controversial issue, which is, of course, a vast understatement.

It’s a debate can be highly charged on both sides. Emotions can reach a fever pitch. Those in favor of same-sex marriage are very passionate in their arguments. Those opposed are equally so.

Judging from some articles and comments in this newspaper and online at Frontiersman.com, those opposed to the notion rail against it to the point of fearful paranoia. Most of the arguments against the issue are based on religion.

Some people will not even acknowledge the existence of gay and lesbian people and don’t see them as human beings, but as things, deviants or anything that describes them as less than human. Some of the terms used cannot be printed here. Yet, gay and lesbian people exist in our community and are indeed human beings.

The gay and lesbian community lives and works in every state. They work in our grocery stores, make movies and TV shows, write music, create art and work in our hospitals and restaurants. They vote, pay taxes, buy homes, own property and even raise families. They also serve in the government making our laws, and with the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” serve openly in our nation’s armed forces. They serve, get wounded and die for this country in war. They have many of the rights and legal protections the rest of us enjoy as U.S. citizens, save one — the right to a legally recognized marriage.

Before anyone goes nuts, marriage is a right, as defined by the U.S. Supreme Court June 12, 1967, in a case with the rather ironic name of Loving vs. Virginia.

This landmark case spelled the end of laws banning interracial marriage. In the decision the court stated, “Marriage is one of the basic civil rights of man.”

There it is — defined by the highest court in the land. And that sets the tone for the current issue. Thus, this is a civil/equal rights issue — nothing more, nothing less.

The opposition seems to feel threatened by all this. They seem to feel their view of marriage is coming under attack. It threatens their view of what a family is. Some say this country will face the wrath of God. They say that this nation will be destroyed if people who are gay and lesbian are afforded all the same protections and rights, including same-sex marriage. They use religion and emotional messages to make their case against the subject of same-sex marriage and anything about gay rights. Some of their fears border on the bizarre. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ironically, the very same arguments, even the use of religion, were behind the support of other discriminatory practices and one very foul curse. In some cases, nearly word for word.

They were used in support of racial segregation and Jim Crow laws, in support of anti-interracial dating, sex and anti-interracial marriage laws. The very same arguments were used to prevent women from seeking the right to vote and to equal status in the workplace. The biggest curse of all is these practices used in support of human slavery. This all may be hard to believe, but it is sadly very true. For some time in American history, the land of the free was also the home of the slave. The cost of removing that curse tore this nation apart in the Civil War at a very high cost in lives lost on both sides.

Recently, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden quietly made history as the first U.S. presidency to publicly announce their support for same-sex marriage. They even got the backing of the NAACP and the support of retired U.S. Army Gen. Colin Powell. It has now become a major issue that defines the two parties differences and divides the nation. According to many polls it is a 50/50 split. While this announcement is great news, I feel they didn’t go far enough. The president stated it is up to individual states to decide. I strongly disagree.

All other civil/equal rights issues were decided not by a popular vote. They were decided on a federal level, at times going against the wants and wishes of the states and even citizens. They were all done to correct various wrongs with the nation in the cause for human rights. If it were just up to some states and some of our citizens, we would still have racial segregation, no interracial marriage, no vote or equal rights for women, gay and lesbian GIs serving in fear of being found out. And maybe even worse — people still living their lives as slaves.

Right now, the Defense Of Marriage Act of 1996 is coming under attack. Many states have written laws and even amended their state constitutions banning same-sex marriages in support of this act. Alaska is one of those states. Eight states have enacted laws for same-sex marriage with two still under contention (Washington state and Maryland). Last Thursday, May 31. A U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston has ruled some aspects of the act unconstitutional. It is now on its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

This could be the deciding factor I have been talking about. If DOMA is found to be unconstitutional by the court, all those laws and state constitutional amendments could be rendered useless. In my opinion, this would be step in the right direction.

America has a history of righting its wrongs, sometimes with the stroke of a president’s pen. At one time at the point of a bayonet in a four-year bloodletting we called the Civil War. Somehow the nation has managed to do the right thing over the years. Now it has to correct a longstanding wrong. It, I mean “we,” must do the right thing. Make same-sex marriage legal, with all the benefits throughout this land and join other nations of this world in the 21st century. It is legal so far in 11 countries, including the Netherlands and Canada. Let’s make that number go up a notch. After all, it is the right thing to do, the human thing to do, and it is the American thing to do.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.