The Oxford dictionary defines marriage as: The formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognised by law, by which they become husband and wife. Gay marriage is defined as: The legally recognised union between partners of the same sex. There is not much of a difference between
these two definitions and yet gay marriage seems to evoke emotions from many people. They are typically opposed to gay marriage on religious and/or moral grounds.

Let’s take a look at why people get married. According to the religious factions of our society, the structure of a family is a moral imperative that should be honoured by all couples. Does this mean that only couples who want to start families should get married? Surely this cannot be as many married couples choose to not have children for a variety of reasons. Or am I reading this definition wrong in that two people with no children also constitute a family?

A religious view point is that same gender sexual activity is contrary to God’s Will and subverts the creative intent of God for human sexuality. Does this mean that we should all only be sexually active when we want to procreate? Surely this is an absurd notion.

Gay couples who have children, in many instances want to marry to ensure that their children are safe should something happen to one of the partners. If the children are biological children of only one of the partners the other would have no rights with regards to the children, should the biological parent be incapacitated or die. In these cases it is therefore imperative that the partners should be allowed to marry.

This is also imperative when it comes to benefits like health care and pensions. Without being in a recognised union, one partner will not be able to make use of these benefits without being in a recognised civil union or marriage. How many times have we heard of couples that have spent many years together and at the passing of one, the other partner is left out in the cold with nothing but memories.

Not everyone wants to get married and that is fine, but this writer believes that everyone should have the right to marry if they so desire. Many countries around the world have legalized gay marriages, but there is still a lot of opposition and discrimination. Even in a country like South Africa where the rights of same sex partners are inscribed in the country’s constitution, there are still problems. Some people, who work at the offices where these civil unions take place, refuse to conduct same sex marriages. They state that it is contrary to their culture.

So why does this topic evoke so much emotion? Surely if two people are in love and want to formalise their union by getting married it should not matter. Whether the two people concerned are a man and a woman, two men or two women, the facts are simply that they want to be married and they should be admired for taking the stance to formalise their union and for showing the world that they care enough about each other to take this step.

It simply comes down to one basic fact. If one is opposed to homosexuality, one would be opposed to gay marriage. There is no other logical reason to be against gay marriage.

The divorce rate world-wide is high and any two people considering marriage should take all factors into consideration before taking this step. Love, children or benefits should not be the only things taken into consideration. Marriage should be a lifelong commitment and both partners should be certain that this is what they want.

To my mind the common sense view of gay marriage is exactly the same as the common sense view of marriage between a man and a woman. Two people who care enough to bind themselves together and to commit to spending their lives together as husband and wife or as spouse and spouse.