The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/28/09 Section: Opinions

DANA ZELMAN

Miss California, you disappoint me. Your poorly formed response against the legalization of same-sex marriage was the most newsworthy thing to come from the Miss USA pageant, and most likely the reason you lost the title to Indiana.

I've always considered our generation as more liberal and accepting (albeit apathetic) than our predecessors, but Miss California, Carrie Prejean, comes across otherwise.

Although the legislatures of Iowa, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont have opened the door for gays to marry, many, such as Miss California, are still choosing to stand in the way of this progress.

Most cultures do not acknowledge homosexuality as something particularly common, but it has existed in all world cultures from the beginning of human history.

Pederasty, the practice of men mentoring and having a sexual relationship with younger boys, was long considered an essential element of a man's sex life in ancient Greece. Pre-Conquest Latin American cultures cite numerous homosexuals and transgenders throughout their literature.

Thai culture even had many kings who took both male and female lovers. Homosexuality has been part of the human experience for a really long time and always will be.

But even after millennia of recorded homosexual activity, homosexuality - let alone homosexual marriage -- is still not entirely accepted, primarily on the basis of religion.

Christian opponents cite Leviticus as a God-given decree for the rejection of homosexuality, saying it is unclean for a man to lie with another man. But homosexuality is not a choice, rather a characteristic, such as having different-colored eyes or big feet.

Who would willingly enter a life of discrimination if they had the option not to? Most Christians believe in a benevolent God who cares for everyone without exception. It is therefore impossible for an all-loving being to not love something, especially something that occurs naturally in the animal world.

Of course, not all Christians are against same-sex marriage, but those who are often struggle to patch this hole in their argument. One friend of mine couldn't even begin to explain why she was so opposed to it, only that she and her family agreed it was a violation of God's trust.

Is our generation that easily convinced? How could we have grown up with RuPaul, "Brokeback Mountain" and the Bravo television network, and still not feel more compassion toward our homosexual peers?

Miss California's comment sparked a heated debate on "Larry King" between conservative radio host Dennis Prager and openly gay celebrity blogger and Miss USA pageant judge Perez Hilton.

Prager argued children should grow up assuming that they will eventually marry, and that 6- and 7-year-olds should never have to be asked about the gender of their future spouse because they face enough sexual confusion already.

Seriously? I can't remember thinking anything sexual about anyone at any time during first and second grades, nor was I ever queried about my sexual orientation. Kids that age don't understand homosexuality, let alone make decisions about their sexual identities, and so this argument is ludicrous as a reason against same-sex marriage.

Many perceive gays to be aberrations to the norm (even the medical community considered homosexuality a mental disorder until 1973) and therefore unfit to be parents. Quite to the contrary, the American Psychological Association has stated, "there is no scientific evidence that parenting effectiveness is related to parental sexual orientation: lesbian and gay parents are as likely as heterosexual parents to provide supportive and healthy environments for their children."

It is love and affection for children that makes or breaks good parenting, not sexual orientation.

Though Prager and Miss California both echoed the sentiment that gays should have equal rights, it is impossible to say gays are treated equally when they are denied the right to marry.

The United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights states all people are born and should be treated equally, and that consenting men and women of legal age have the right to marry and found a family, citing the family as a basic unit of the state and deserving special protection.

It does not say, however, these men and women must enter a heterosexual marriage in order to receive said protection. If marriage and family are acknowledged as fundamental human rights, they should pertain to everyone, regardless of sexuality.

Allowing gay marriage will not increase the number of gays, damage the minds of children or change our everyday lives in any way. Maybe I'm wrong about our generation, and I'm actually part of the minority opinion.

Either way, Miss California, I am so glad you didn't win the crown.

- Dana Zelman is a senior from Marietta majoring in publication management and Spanish.

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