It is easy to understand the reasons that many are opposed to legalizing gay marriage, but somewhat harder to understand the justification offered for imposing those reasons on other individuals who may not necessarily share their beliefs.
In many respects, once one examines the specific objections, it becomes hard to distinguish the current status of same sex marriage from the status of interracial marriage fifty years ago. One of the most fundamental features of American life in general, and of American jurisprudence in particular, is that laws must apply equally to all of us.
Certainly, there are valid justifications for limiting marriage to human beings, and for criminalizing marriage between
The crucial difference is that the criteria for those prohibitions are objective. After comparing the respective merits of the opposing positions on gay marriage, it would seem that the opposition relies on arguments that do not hold up to the objective standard, and that they violate the other well established, fundamental principles underlying the American constitutional legal system that requires equal protection for all..
References
Kurtz, S. The Libertarian Question: Incest, Homosexuality and Adultery
National Review Online (April 30, 2003); Accessed September 12, 2007, at http://www.nationalreview.com/kurtz/kurtz043003.asp
Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, 798 N.E. 2d 941(2003) Massachusetts
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