Diane Robertson
Many people have said to me, “It is inevitable. Why do you care?”
Former speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich, said to American conservatives, “It is in every family. It is in every community. The momentum is clearly now in the direction in finding some way to … accommodate and deal with reality. And the reality is going to be that in a number of American states — and it will be more after 2014 — gay relationships will be legal, period.”
Is legalized gay marriage inevitable? In the western world, many countries and states have acquiesced to the same-sex marriage lobby. Does that mean it is something to embrace?
In January 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion is a constitutional right for women and required every state to legalize abortion. This ruling did not end the abortion fight. A change in law did not convince every person that abortion is good. The fight continued. In fact, in 2012, 39 years after Roe vs. Wade, more state laws were passed to limit abortions than in any year previous. The war to save the lives of the unborn did not end with Roe vs. Wade. Everyone did not embrace and except abortion as a cultural norm.
Three liberal states legalized gay marriage by a small majority vote during the 2012 elections. The Supreme Court is going to hear cases on gay marriage in just two more months. They may decide that gay marriage is a constitutional right. Like Roe vs. Wade didn’t end the abortion battle, Hollingsworth vs. Perry or Windsor vs. the United States will not end the marriage debate.
The abortion battle is not solely about women’s right to choose. The battle is bigger than that– it is about human life and protecting and caring for children. The marriage battle is not just about giving every couple equal standing under the tax code and labeling all sexual relationship as “marriage”. There wouldn’t be a war if it was. The marriage battle exists to change the law to make sexual freedom more important than any other freedom or right—religious freedom, parental rights, the right to conscience, freedom of speech and of the press, children’s right to a stable family with a mother and a father. The stakes are high in the marriage battle.
Many people still stand strong in their religious beliefs and traditional values. They will fight for their religious freedom. Many people do not like their children being taught about homosexuality in schools. Many people do not like being forced into business that goes against their religion and conscience. Many people strongly believe in the importance of stable families with a mother and a father and how they form society. The war will go on. Gay marriage may be legalized, but just like legalizing abortion did not end the abortion fight, legalizing gay marriage will not end the marriage fight.