On Aug. 19, the newspaper ran a story explaining why homosexuals seek to be legally considered married couples — they seek the monetary benefits of legal marriage. Married couples are entitled to tax breaks, death benefits, retirement benefits and health insurance. One vital question was not addressed.

Why does the government provide these benefits to married couples? Society depends on stable sexual unions that produce a most precious gift — babies. A loving father and mother provide the necessary security for children. Society depends on the natural bonds of a family for moral order and structure. Only traditional marriage, in the unique complementary nature of man and woman, can be the building block of society. In a nuclear family, children thrive in a nurturing environment where they are taught to be productive and responsible citizens. In other words, it is in the best interest of society to protect one-man, one-woman marriage.

The state explains its support “to nurture and encourage the traditional monogamous family unit as the basic building block of our society, the foundation of harmonious and enriching family life.”

Advocates of homosexual marriage demonstrate that they do not understand the true nature of marriage. Homosexuals are less than 2 percent of the U.S. population, but have prodigious buying power ($835 billion in 2011) and receive plenty of media attention. They are using these resources in a misguided way.

Tampering with the definition of marriage would be a dangerous experiment. We would be saying that human sexuality, being a husband or wife, has no objective moral meaning. It would be like pulling out a cornerstone to see if the building collapses.

Kathryn F. Swegart

Rome


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