In 1998, Malaysia imprisoned the deputy prime minister for homosexual acts. He was released in 2004, and he now leads the opposition party in parliament. The police have accused him of homosexual acts again–it is still a crime in Malaysia. Malaysian opposition leader accused of sodomy – CNN.com
Do you believe that he should be put in jail for homosexual acts? Asked differently, do you believe that someone should have their legal rights (e.g., freedom) limited because they are homosexual?
Even if you believe that homosexuality is immoral, does that mean that it should be illegal? Does that mean that someone should have limited legal rights? I think it is clear that homosexuality, without anything more, should not have any impact on legal rights. A gay political leader, for example, should have the same legal rights as a straight political leader.
This is the heart of the gay marriage issue. In the 48 states that prohibit gay marriage, people are being denied legal rights simply because they are homosexual. If you don’t think we should put people in jail for being homosexual, why do you think we should punish them by denying them the legal benefits of a legal relationship?
What benefits? If you are in a terrible accident and connected to life support, for example, only certain people can decide whether you should stay connected to life support. A spouse can legally make that decision–a boyfriend or girlfriend cannot make that decision.
These rights affect the children of gay parents also. Right now, if a child lives with two unmarried gay parents, only one of the adults is legally a parent. If that parent dies or is incapacitated, the other parent cannot make legal decisions. Imagine this horrible scenario: two gay parents and their child are in an accident. The child is severely injured. The legal parent is killed. The non-legal parent is OK. The child will have brain damage–but there is a 25% chance that experimental surgery will prevent the brain damage. To do the surgery, the doctors must have permission from a legal guardian. The non-legal gay parent is standing right there, but because she is gay, she cannot give permission: the child has brain damage. Is this scenario too far-fetched for you? Then think about simple medical decisions, signing permission slips for school, enrolling the child in little league, etc. The non-legal parent has limited legal authority to do any of those activities.
Why are we legally punishing people simply because they are gay?
