Perspectives on Gay Marriage

Artists’ Statement

By Lounes Allache, Eli Berson, Ella Moniz, Raul Morales

The legalization of gay marriage has long been a commonly debated issue in America and it seems like everyone has an opinion on it. Because America is primarily a Christian nation, a prevalent stance on the issue is that gay marriage shouldn’t be legalized because it’s sinful. This opinion is popular among religious people, and mainly older generations. This idea relies heavily on the ideals outlined in the Bible, which says that marriage should be between a man and a woman. Another prevalent stance is that gay marriage should be legalized to promote social equality for all sexual orientations. This idea has existed in the past but only in the last few generations have people really picked up on the legal rights denied to same-sex couples. This narrative is based solely on the idea that it’s detrimental to a family to deny them the rights that married couples have, just because they are of the same gender. A fringe viewpoint that should receive more consideration examines the institution of marriage to argue that it’s obsolete, and therefore shouldn’t be spread by legalizing gay marriage. This construct has only picked up speed in recent history by younger and more critically thinking generations. This narrative lists the reasons why gay marriage should not be legalized, but it is not because they believe same-sex couples are wrong or immoral, but that marriage itself should no longer exist. This narrative argues that marriage is not working for our society anymore, and causes more harm than love and commitment. All different narratives have different goals around this issue. In this exact moment, the legalization of gay marriage has never been talked about more. It is closely covered by the media, with commentary from the most prominent political figures, including the Pope and the President.

We’ve asked Miriam Stahl, a critic of marriage and member of the LGBTQ community, to share her thoughts on the downfalls of marriage and why legalizing gay marriage isn’t a worthwhile fight in this interview.

Annotated Works Cited