The sanctity of marriage

Devotion. Loyalty. Love. Family. Are these the qualities that make a marriage sacred? According to those opposing same-sex marriages, "sanctity" involves none of these characteristics. It would seem to them that the only criterion necessary for making a marriage sacred is that those saying "I do" have one vagina and one penis.

I would like to take this opportunity to take a look at some fine examples of heterosexual unions and how they have worked so hard to perpetuate this "sanctity of marriage."

First, let's begin with everyone's favorite princess of pop -- Britney Spears. This "sexually liberated" diva decided to jump on the sacred marriage bandwagon and got married to her childhood friend for precisely 55 hours. 55 HOURS! I will not even mention that Ms. Spears was intoxicated -- oops, I said it anyway. Basketball's bad boy, Dennis Rodman, and Baywatch beauty, Carmen Electra, also decided to promote the "sanctity of marriage," trying it out in 1998 at a chapel in Las Vegas. At least these two made it nine days!

Speaking of nine-day weddings, Cher and rocker Greg Allman also said "I do" in Las Vegas. Cher quickly turned back time and called it quits, claiming she could not handle his heroin addiction. And lastly, our favorite R&B singer-turned-porn-star, R. Kelly, wed Aaliyah (may she rest in peace) back in 1994 until the court stepped in because she lied about her age -- she was only 15! Let's take a moment to applaud these sacred unions.

If I had the time and money, the list of sacred heterosexual unions would need its own page in the Daily. Regardless, I think I have made my point clear. Pinning the opposition to same-sex marriage on a need to defend the "sanctity of marriage" is a weak and pathetic argument. When one out of every two marriages already fails in this country, is it really logical to blame weaknesses in the institution on people who do not even have the right to get married?

If we are going to base legislature on the Bible, last time I checked, "Thou shall not commit adultery" was one of the Ten Commandments -- should we also add a constitutional amendment banning that? I do not recall coming across any scripture that said, "Gays shall not marry" -- clearly, this was not part of God's Top Ten.

However, if "sanctity of marriage" means fostering loving, committed, monogamous relationships and helping stabilize homes, why not allow same-sex couples who have been together for multiple years legalize their commitment? If any heterosexual couple can run off to Vegas and get married for a few hours, why can't Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, a lesbian couple who have been together for 50 years, get married?

Whether you are comfortable with it or not, gay couples already have families and have been successfully raising children for decades. These families are not going to go away if George W. decides to ban same-sex marriage. Denying same-sex couples a basic human right is really just saying that the government does not want THOSE families to be secure and stable because the parents involved do not have the right genitalia.

Saving the best for last, I would like to remind everyone about the separation of church and state. According to the First Amendment, the government will not endorse or oppose any religious viewpoint. With that in mind, let me share with you the definition of "sanctity" -- the quality of being sacred. If you look up sacred you will find a few definitions: "dedicated to the worship of a deity," "worthy of religious veneration," "made or declared holy," and finally "worthy of respect" (source: dictionary.com.) If Bush wants to claim that same-sex marriage should be banned in order to defend the "sanctity of marriage" using one of the first three definitions, then that is a clear violation of the constitution. Using the only definition of "sacred" that does not violate the First Amendment, Mr. President is claiming that a same-sex union is not "worthy of respect."

If that is the case, is Britney Spears' 55-hour marriage more worthy of respect than a gay couple's who have been together for half of a century?

Leah Knobler is a junior majoring in psychology.