The article by Michael Nava and Robert Dawidoff begins by providing background information to the help readers understand the issue of gay marriages. The authors discuss the societal construction of marriage as a union between two consenting adults whose decision is not subject to the opinions and views of their families and friends.
The article illustrates the importance of marriage in influencing benefits such as preferential tax treatment, immigration laws and property rights. The authors highlight the powerful incentives created by the state and church for married individuals.
The authors present their claim regarding the pursuance of marriage rights by gays and lesbians who want to enjoy the social and spiritual benefits bestowed upon married couples.
The authors assert that the upbringing and socialization of Americans creates the same concept of the reverence and respectability of marriage among both heterosexuals and homosexual. Imposing restrictions on the right to marriage creates barriers that limit the affected group’s access to diverse privileges and entitlements.
The article presents the reasons for acceptance of homosexual marriages, which should not serve as a hindrance to love, respect and mutual support and acknowledgement by the society. The article claims that the society denies homosexual couples the same benefits awarded to heterosexual couples.
The authors highlight the success of gay unions despite the social, familial and legal challenges, which heterosexuals do not face although their unions are increasingly failing. The authors rely on data from the Demography journal, which presents a study on the effects of cohabitation on marriages. The study presents evidence illustrating that cohabiting creates values and attitudes, which increase the possibility of divorce.
The warrant in the article is the use of evidence from the study on cohabiting effects to support the argument that the protection of a permanent union between any two individuals requires a recognized marriage.
The benefits of the longevity of an intimate relationship through marriage should be accessible to all citizens irrespective of their sexual orientation. The authors discuss studies about the effectiveness of gay parenting and state that children raised in homosexual unions have equal abilities and capabilities to children brought up in heterosexual marriages.
The authors acknowledge the opposition to homosexual marriages, which critics consider as a threat to procreation, which is the main purpose for marriage. The article discusses that societal constructs and laws against homosexual marriages emerge from the biblical description of marriage and prohibition of homosexuality.
The authors present ecclesiastical laws as the key pillar in the opposition of gay marriages. The unacceptability of homosexuality in Christianity and other religions lowers the possibility of gay unions. The authors acknowledge the importance of parenting within the institution of marriage to give children a sense of identity especially on gender roles and expectations.
The authors conclude by combining both inductive and deductive reasoning to demand the expansion of the model of marriage to incorporate parenting units outside the mainstream context.
The article discusses the increasing number of gay and lesbian parents whose children, adopted or born in a heterosexual relationship, deserve to grow up in a marriage environment like children in a traditional family setup. Education and awareness will eliminate the challenges due to discrimination against gay unions and children raised in such unions. Marriage promotes family stability, which should not only be a privilege for heterosexuals but also homosexuals.