Down Your Throat and in Your Face?

Down Your Throat and In Your Face?

The debate about same-sex “marriage” is often reduced to outrage toward those who dare offer opposition. Rarely is there a calm debate over the real issues involved.

Instead, pro-family promoters are brutally stereotyped as hate-filled Bible-thumping conservatives who are attempting to push their narrow-minded beliefs down the throats of all in society. Their in-your-face attitude is labeled dangerous and irrational.

It is ironic that those liberals who rail against stereotyping should be so ardent in practicing it. Even a most elementary reading of most serious pro-family materials would be enough to dismiss such stereotypes. Even worse is the fact that the use of this stereotype has become a battering ram against those who would dare oppose any aspect of the homosexual agenda.

In face of such irrational attacks, perhaps it would be helpful to analyze not the pro-family arguments but the stereotype. Are all those opposed to same-sex “marriage” really hate-filled Bible-thumping conservatives attempting to push their narrow-minded beliefs down the throats of all in society?

Down Your Throat
Perhaps the most blatantly false part of the portrayal is the idea that social conservatives are forcing their agenda down the throats of Americans. Nothing could be farther from the truth. It is a technical impossibility since one cannot impose something that is already in place.

In the case of same-sex “marriage,” all conservative Americans are doing is reaffirming the status quo. They are affirming something that is the norm. In the case of Catholic Americans, they are affirming a position that has been consistently taught by Church fathers and saints for 2,000 years.

Exclusive traditional marriage is the law of the land. This law has been further enshrined by popular acclamation in a Federal Defense of Marriage Act signed by President Bill Clinton defining marriage as between a man and a woman. State versions of this act were later adopted by forty states. Taking the law of the land yet further, traditional marriage constitutional amendments have been overwhelmingly approved in 27 American states. Family advocates merely affirm what is already in place. In other words, nothing is being imposed.

That is not the case on the side of same-sex “marriage” advocates. They are in fact proposing something completely new. A tiny minority is claiming as a right something that has never been accepted or established in history. Since it is not the law of the land, they are seeking to change the laws to fit their agenda. They avoid at all cost bringing the issue to a popular vote. More often than not, it is the activism of judges that force acceptance. In other words, same-sex “marriage” is being imposed on society by the homosexual movement and its allies.

Regardless of one’s stand, one has to admit that if anyone is forcing something down the throat of America, it is the same-sex “marriage” promoters.

To extend the argument yet further, it is worthwhile to note that social conservatives are also affirming the scientific status quo. There is no scientific evidence to support the thesis that homosexuality is genetic. Scientists have searched in vain for a homosexual gene. When family promoters point this out, they are simply presenting the evidence not their own opinions.

Again, the other side does the exact opposite. Many pro-homosexual individuals simply deny the scientific record and gratuitously affirm that homosexuality is genetic because they feel it is that way. In other words, their down-your-throat approach is to present their own opinions as scientific fact.

Bible-thumping
Another common misconception by those who do the stereotyping is that pro-family promoters based their position solely on the Bible. Pro-homosexual activists contend that since some Americans do not believe in the Bible, all such arguments are invalid.

Again, the reasoning is flawed. Indeed, the Bible is full of quotes that unequivocally oppose homosexual relations, revisionist exegeses notwithstanding. Pro-family promoters undeniably find these citations helpful in countering same-sex marriage. Religious and moral arguments are very important in the debate but they are far from being the only resource.

Pro-family supporters meet the opposition on every major field of argument. In the field of philosophy, they defend a long Western tradition of natural law, written on the hearts of all men, from which is built a morality of unchangeable laws. These laws are the same, always and everywhere and the basis of law in civilized society.

From the point of view of social science, social conservatives point out the factors of the homosexual lifestyle which disqualifies them for marriage. They cite, for example, the sterility of these relationships and the promiscuous lifestyles often adopted by those in so-called stable relationships who see no contradiction between monogamy and infidelity.

Across the board, the homosexual lifestyle presents greater risks in everything that makes for a healthy family. Pro-family scholars document high indexes of health problems, infectious social diseases, mental health problems, alcoholism, drug use, suicide rates, domestic abuse, and child abuse.

At the same time, thousands of studies have been produced in many disciplines that prove the overwhelming benefits of traditional marriage to child well-being. They prove that marriage is more than a private emotional relationship; it is an undeniable social good that best protects the interest of the child, family and society.

The fact is that the social conservatives base their positions on much more than just the Bible. In every major field and discipline, they have gathered material to support their position.

On the other side, the same quality of research is not often found. For example, studies seeking to prove that sexual orientation in family life is irrelevant have consistently suffered from design flaws, methodological problems and lack of long term evidence. The homosexual movement has often used misinformation, false premises and shoddy pop science like that of the late Alfred Kinsey. At times “evidence” consists of sentimental vignettes and emotionally charged prime time network reports.

Hateful Christians?
Finally there is the claim that social conservatives opposing same-sex marriage are hateful and uncharitable. Such accusations themselves are ironically often couched in passionate condemning diatribes.

Again, such characterizations are unjust. Those opposing same-sex marriage have no intention to defame or disparage anyone. No one is moved by personal hatred against any individual. In intellectually opposing individuals or organizations promoting the homosexual agenda, the sole intent of social conservatives is the defense of marriage, the family, and the precious remnants of Christian civilization in society.

In fact, far from being hateful, practicing Catholics are called to be filled with compassion and pray for those who struggle against unrelenting and violent temptation to sin, be it toward homosexual sin or otherwise. They pray for those who fall into homosexual sin out of human weakness, that God may assist them with His grace. They pray for the conversion of those radical activists pushing the homosexual agenda, even when doing everything permitted by law to block their efforts.

Down your throat and in your face? The evidence points to the other side.