Upon the Notion of Gay Marriage

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines Marriage as, "the state of being united to a person of the opposite sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law."

In other words, being married to another person of the opposite sex is to state that one is in a legally-bound, exclusive, sexual relationship with a partner of the opposite sex for the time of marriage. Should a person be discovered of infidelity, his or her spouse can ask for divorce & the accused may be held liable for breach of contract in terms of monetary compensation or another applicable legal clause such as if they have children or if they've signed a pre-nuptial agreement. I am only addressing marriage between a man & a woman from a legal point of view without delving into its emotional or spiritual significance. Also, marriages of convenience are not uncommon.

Between a man & a woman then, from a legal standpoint, there is no difficulty in defining the terms of such a contract or defining the conditions of a breach. When we talk of a consensual relationship with the opposite sex, we mean a sexual relationship. From a legal standpoint, there is no difficulty in identifying when sexual intercourse between a man & woman has occurred. Biologically, men & women are endowed with sexual organs whose sexual & reproductive function is only fully realized in relation to its opposite counterpart during the sexual act. Thus, while intent of infidelity can be grounds enough for seeking a divorce, courts do want to determine if the accused partner was, actually, involved in sexual intercourse outside of marriage. For instance, a casual kiss at a party while inebriated, may not be grounds enough for a spouse to seek divorce. There would have to be another qualifying reason. I, also, do not mean to imply that one cannot seek a divorce, simply, because one has changed one's mind about marriage.

However, in terms of monetary compensation & custody of children, reasons for divorce can be an important factor to take into consideration. Neither is this article about the pros & cons or the universal specifics of marriage law.

With this background in mind, let us discuss the notion of gay marriage. Per the definition cited above & with suitable modifications, gay marriage ought to be defined as, "the state of being united to a person of the same sex as husband or wife in a consensual and contractual relationship recognized by law."

From a legal standpoint a few questions, immediately, come to mind regarding the recognition & enforcement of such a contract. Who is to be the husband & who is to be the wife, since both individuals are of the same sex? Further, between members of the same sex, how is a consensual or sexual relationship to be defined? Specifically, when & how is sexual intercourse said to have occurred between males & males, & between females & females? Clearly, human beings do not have sexual organs whose functions are realized in relation to members of their own sex.

It could be possible for the couple, themselves, to nominate one of them as husband & the other as wife. In normal marriages this is an important consideration during divorce when granting custody of children to the husband or wife based on the differences in physiology between men & women. For instance, courts would tend to favour granting custody to the mother for infants & very young children in the interest of breast feeding & raising. But what happens if a gay couple were to adopt children & then seek divorce?

It may also be possible for gay people to list certain acts that they frequently engage in, as part of their love-making that may constitute sexual activity. For instance, such acts could include oral sex, anal sex, & another form of sexual fantasy. But such a list could, potentially, go on to be very long and these cannot be, strictly, defined as sexual intercourse. In the absence of any biological basis of defining any one, particular, distinguishing act between human beings of the same sex as sexual intercourse, it stands to reason that there can be no 'marriage' between members of the same sex.

If gays claim they are being oppressed, by not being able to get married, they only have nature to blame for their oppression.