Ever since President Bush proposed a constitutional amendment that could ban same-sex marriage, the topic has been forced upon the American public. This issue has also hit the UW-Madison campus, as hundreds of students attended a structured debate Tuesday in Memorial Union that focused on same-sex marriage.
Maggie Gallagher, a nationally syndicated journalist and author, said children need a family with a married mother and father, not two individuals cohabitating.
She added marriage should act as a guide for child rearing parents.
\Men and women who are attracted to the opposite sex need a social institution that points them uniquely to the kind of relationship that is not harmful to them and not harmful to any of their children,"" she said.
Students on hand for the event had their own ideas about the debate.
""The prevalence of sexuality [in the media] and lack of male role models I think have a bigger affect on children than the issue of gay marriage,"" said UW-Madison sophomore Jordan Burghardt.
UW-Madison freshman Trent Bee said many couples are getting divorced or married for the wrong reasons.
""When you're gay, you feel different already, so why not try to keep some things the same [by allowing homosexuals to marry]?"" he added.
Well-known national columnist and spokesperson for gay rights, Jonathan Rauch, was on hand to speak in support of same-sex marriage, saying as a homosexual himself, he cannot legally marry anyone of the same sex.
For Rauch, the issue of homosexuals not being allowed to marry is an issue of civil rights.
""The only two classes of people in America who have ever been in that position are slaves and children,"" he said.
Expressing marriage as a fundamental part of life, Rauch let the audience know how many people are affected by not being allowed to marry.
""There are 15 million Americans who are unable to marry anybody that they love. That's a lot of people. That's about the population of Illinois,"" he said.
Like Gallagher, Rauch also addressed the idea of marriage being reserved for a man and a woman. He said the threat to marriage is not homosexuals, but heterosexual couples who are either not getting married or are getting divorced.
Responding during a question and answer session following the debate, Rauch personally addressed all those in attendance who were against same-sex marriage.
""The world is not standing still. Gay couples are here. We are not going away, we are not going to hide,"" Rauch said.
