Introduction

Same sex marriage should be legal in China.

Introduction

People should respect the right of every individual to choose their own life style. China is the fourth largest country in the world with a population of 1.3 billion. There are an estimated 30 million gays and lesbians living in China. Nowadays being a homosexual is still very hard in China, especially in mainland China. Most of the homosexual choose not to reveal their sexual orientation because they are afraid, and under the pressure from families and society many of them even marry with someone of the opposite sex in fake marriages.

In this article I’m going to make the argument for legalization of same sex marriage in China. I will the divide the argument into three parts; each of them will talk about different reason why same sex marriage should be legal in china with back up evidence. The first arguments will talk about homosexuals should have equal rights as well as other people. Second, homosexuality is a victimless crime and shouldn't be a crime because of that. Lastly, I will negate that gay marriage is a threat to the institution of marriage.

All human beings have equal rights

Point 1: All human beings have equal rights

Article 33 of the Constitution of China says that “All citizens of the People’s Republic of China are equal before the law.”, that should include homosexuals. By China’s own constitution, homosexuals should have equal rights to marriage that heterosexuals have. In China marriage is not in the constitution but are laws, so those laws must follow the constitution which says homosexuals should have equal rights and give homosexuals the right to marriage equal to heterosexuals.

China is a member of the United Nations, so it should adhere to declarations made by the United Nations. This includes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which is international law saying all people have equal rights, including homosexuals. Public opinion around the world is changing to support gay marriage, and the United Nations have declared that equality for homosexuals is important and all countries should pursue it. If China cannot follow its own laws or morality, then at least it can’t ignore the international pressure for it to change.

Homosexuality is a victimless crime

Point 2: Homosexuality is a victimless crime

Legislation says that marriage is between a man and a woman, not between two people, and it is worded that way to purposely exclude homosexuals. By denying this to homosexuals we are excluding and therefore punishing them for their choices.

John Stuart Mill created the ‘harm principle’ in the 19th century. He said that "the only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community, against his will, is to prevent harm to others.”, which means law should only restrict things which harm people. This principle is the foundation for much of modern law. How does homosexual marriage harm anyone? No one is hurt or disadvantaged by homosexual married, so then it a victimless crime. Because it’s a victimless crime there should be no laws against it.

The Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, published in the UK, called for the decriminalization and end to discrimination of homosexuality because it is a victimless crime. Many other countries have used this same reasoning to also decriminalizes and end discrimination against homosexuals. Homosexuals’ having equal rights to heterosexuals, including the right to marry, harms no one In the Chinese society and so it should not be illegal in China.

Gay marriage is a threat to the institution of marriage.

Point 3: Gay marriage is a threat to the institution of marriage.

One of the main arguments against gay marriage is that it will damage the institution of marriage, but this is wrong. Research published by the American Anthropological Association in 2005 showed that there is no evidence that society depends upon marriage being exclusively heterosexual to keep stable. The same research did show marriages of various types, such as intercultural, promoted stability and humanity in society; homosexual marriage increases this variety in marriage. So gay marriage does not damage society but helps it.

A second argument for this is that marriage is a sacred traditional institution and we shouldn’t change it. The bible says homosexuality is a sin Homosexuality is a sin, and says that marriage is sacred. So many Christians feel homosexual marriage is a threat to marriage. However the bible also says slavery is OK and polygamy is OK, however most Christians won’t support these. So, Christian morals are more complicated than exactly what the bible says. If Christians can decide to ignore the bible’s teaching on slavery, then Christians should be able to make another exception for gay marriage. Marriage was not sacred to Christians until 1563 when it declared it a sacrament, before this marriage was secular and was only a legal contract and not a religious one. Marriage is not a part of the old history of Christian religion, and Christianity was fine before it was made sacred.

Christianity is just one of the religions in China, and some other religions in china like Buddhism support gay marriage. Anyway, Chinese law is by its constitution secular and gay marriage is a legal issue, so religious opinion should not be important anyway. If religion is not relevant and there is no evidence that gay marriage damages society, then the argument that gay marriage damages the institution of marriage should not prevent the legalization of gay marriage.

Conclusion

Conclusion

In conclusion, all humans have equal rights and that includes homosexuals who should have equal right to marry, homosexual marriage harms no one and because it is a victimless crime it should not be illegal, and homosexual marriage is not a threat to the institution of marriage.

Until China gives equal rights to the 30 million homosexuals living there, it will be looked down upon by the rest of the world. For the wellbeing of those 30 million people and the conscience of the country China should give equal rights to those 30 million people and allow them to marry.

Reference

Reference

American Anthropological Association (2004) Statement on Marriage and the Family. Retrieved from http://www.aaanet.org/issues/policy-advocacy/Statement-on-Marriage-and-the-Family.cfm

BibleGateway (2011) Bible Passages. Retrieved from http://www.biblegateway.com/

China Daily (2011) Confucianism: How Secular is the Chinese State? Retrieved from http://justrecently.wordpress.com/2011/02/25/confucianism-how-secular-is-the-chinese-state/

Dan Fastenberg (2010) A Brief History Of International Gay Marriage. Retrieved from http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2005678,00.html

FRANK JORDANS (2011). U.N. Gay Rights Protection Resolution Passes, Hailed As ‘Historic Moment’. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/17/un-gay-rights-protection-resolution-passes-_n_879032.html

Michael Lacewing (2011) Mill’s ‘Harm Principle’. Retrieved from http://cw.routledge.com/textbooks/philosophy/downloads/a2/unit4/mill/MillHarm.pdf

National Organization For Marriage (2011) The Threat To Marriage. Retrieved from http://www.nationformarriage.org/site/c.omL2KeN0LzH/b.4634317/k.5506/The_Threat_to_Marriage.htm

Nicola Davison (2011). Gay Marriage With Chinese Characteristics. Retrieved from http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/dispatches/2011/02/gay_marriage_with_chinese_characteristics.html

People's Daily Online (2004) CONSTITUTION OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. Retrieved from http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/constitution/constitution.html

The Catholic Encyclopedia (2011) atholicism - Catholic Teachings on Marriage and Family Life. Retrieved from http://family.jrank.org/pages/212/Catholicism-Catholic-Teachings-on-Marriage-Family-Life.html

The United Nations (n.d.) THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/