Analytical Hypertext - Legalizing Gay Marriage

The topic of my analytical hypertext will be Legalizing Gay Marriage in the United States. This topic is one of the more controversial issues that is being currently debated because of the church’s (and other religious group’s) many concerns regarding homosexuality and marriage. My personal standpoint is that gay marriage should be legalized in the United States because not only does it support the fact that all persons are born with civil and equal rights but that marriage is not strictly about who participates in the sacrament, but why they participate in it. I strongly believe that couples, no matter what their gender, should be allowed to express their love for each other by getting married and possibly starting a family (which does not necessarily have to be done the “natural” way).

The four stakeholders that I observed as having standpoints in this issue are the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) community, the church and other religious groups, those who oppose of gay marriage and homosexuality in general (i.e. homophobes), and to a lesser extent, the children of gay couples. Each of these stakeholders has something different to gain or lose when it comes to the legalization of gay marriage. First of all, the LGBT community (and is essence their supporters) represents the group of people who are for legalizing gay marriage. They see opposing same-sex marriages as a form of minority discrimination and that gender should not be an issue when it comes to marriage. Secondly, the church and other religious groups represent the group of people who feel that marriage is a sacrament and should only occur between a man and woman in preparation for procreation. They believe that homosexuality is a sin and that God wants marriage to only take place between men and women. However there are some churches that already do or are thinking about supporting same-sex marriages, in which case there are two standpoints within this group of stakeholders. Third of all, the opposing group believes that gay marriage should not be legalized because of reasons such as it will “violate the sacred institution of marriage” and that being homosexual is “unnatural”. Such arguments give rise to the notion that such people are merely afraid of the idea that the modern world is different from that of the ancient and that change is inevitable. The last group of stakeholders is the children of same-sex couples. This group of stakeholders also represents two different sides – the first one being that children who are raised in any home where there are two committed parents present (whether heterosexual or homosexual) benefit more compared to children who are raised in a household where their parents or divorced, single, or they are raised by a guardian. On the other hand, some may feel that being raised by homosexual parents is an unfit environment for a child. The four stakeholders that I just described and their standpoints will be expressed in more detail in my hypertext.

My analytical hypertext will not only cover the stakeholders and their standpoints, but my standpoint as well as personal experiences and ties to this subject, polls taken on people’s views on legalizing gay marriage, as well as some personal accounts of those who oppose and agree with legalizing gay marriage. As for my personal ties to this subject, I myself identify with the LGBT community. It is not something I am ashamed of admitting, but it is also not something I feel the need to shout to the world. However, in order for this analytical hypertext to be affective, I know that I have to be willing to open up about my experiences and opinions in order to relate to those of the LGBT community. It is a difficult task, but I feel that I am ready and capable of discussing certain experiences in my life in order to really “hit home” with this hypertext.