Gay Marriage
College Dems speak out

March 26, 2004

No student organization [can] categorically deny membership because of sexual orientation.
-Every constitution of Albion College organizations

Albion College has taken steps to ensure that gay men and women are not discriminated against by any institution of which they choose to be a part. It is a shame that this standard cannot be applied to the rest of the nation. On the local, state and national levels, the debate has been raised about allowing homosexuals to enjoy the institution of marriage.

Opponents of homosexual weddings claim they are “defending the sanctity of marriage.” So how does a constitutional amendment redefining marriage keep the Constitution’s tradition?

If anything, allowing same- sex marriage would solidify what marriage stands for. No one would debate that marriages is the ultimate way for one to admit love to their significant other. Yet about half of the weddings that happen today result in divorce.

This statistic would suggest that the foundations of marriage are being challenged. If homosexuals, a group of people that have been waiting their whole lives for this commitment, were allowed to take part in holy matrimony, the love that marriage should stand for would be solidified.

Some people have suggested a compromise allowing homosexuals to participate in civil unions, a bond that is “just as good.” This year marks the 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court case Brown vs. Board of Education. The decision reversed the pre-existing “separate but equal” doctrine that dealt with the treatment of minorities.

Yet today our nation finds itself reverting back to its old ways in the treatment of another minority group. Civil unions are a start, but it is not enough in the quest for equal treatment for homosexuals.

The College Democrats applaud the efforts of those who fight for equality of all, no matter what their sexual preference is.

Contributed by the College Democrats