This should spark some controversy...

Here's what my assignment was:
Exam question #1:
Analyze the ideology of your least favorite in regard to the issue of gay and lesbian families


Because of my neutrality on this issue, I decided to explore and pick apart the conservative argument, because I know less about that one. So here it is:



Conservative Arguments Against Gay Families

Gay and lesbian families are a growing phenomenon in the United States. This alternative lifestyle to traditional heterosexual family units is a problem for a multitude of reasons. These difficult problems include legal concerns, cultural issues, and biological consequences that society must thoroughly consider before radically altering the primacy of traditional family structures.

The first arguments against promoting gay families are purely legalistic. Gay marriages are not legal in the vast majority of the United States. This simple fact creates inordinate problems for gay families. Adoption is more difficult than it is for married heterosexual couples. Rarely are both parents recognized as such on birth certificates when one conceives a child. When the biological parent dies the partner has no legal claim on the children, multiplying the trauma for everyone. This lack of legal recognition is a major argument against gay families.

The next arguments involve how gay families go against the culture and traditions of America. Gay parenting is not the usual type of family structure in the culture, with less than a million known households. Most denominations and religions in the US don’t recognize gay marriages or the families, and many strenuously object to this lifestyle on doctrinal grounds. Children of gay parents often experience shame as a result of their parents’ alternative lifestyle. Society also has a long tradition of gender based roles which become confused with same-sex parents and leads to unconventional understandings of gender roles by the kids. Also, there is statistical evidence that gay males are more likely than straights to seek sexual relations outside of their relationships, a cultural phenomenon that has verifiably negative affects for heterosexual couples. Obviously, there is a great deal of cultural resistance to gay families.

And then there are the biological arguments against gay families. Sex between gay males can have serious medical complications. Gay couples by themselves cannot conceive naturally, and need another adult of the opposite sex to create biological offspring. Because of these hurdles to reproduction, fewer children are likely to be born to gay families, decreasing the potential population. Some studies show that children suffer physically without the presence of both male and female parents, but whether this applies to gay parents needs to be explored. There are also statistics that show that homosexuals are more likely to be mentally stable than heterosexuals, and are more likely to be unfit for parenthood. These biological impediments work against the creation of gay families.

Lastly, gay parenting has some significant negative impacts on children. There are some significant concerns regarding pedophilia and gay parents, especially male couples. As they grow older, many feel the need to assert their heterosexuality by becoming more promiscuous. Adolescents are also more likely to explore their sexualities and become gay themselves. Children also face growing up without one of their biological parents (or both in the case of adoptions) and all the complications and feelings of abandonment that situation creates. More specifically, since most gay couples with children are lesbians, gay parenting contributes to the already growing problem of children growing up without their fathers.

The conservative arguments boil down to the fact that gay parenting goes against traditions. Homosexuals have many legal hurdles because of the long standing tradition of straight parenting. Cultural resistance originates from the tradition of having everyone live very similar lifestyles to minimize conflicts, which our current society is much more able to handle. The conservatives do have a point when it comes to the biological impossibility of same-sex couples conceiving on their own, but does not necessarily preclude most adults who prefer their own kind from raising children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_parenting
http://www.religiouscoalitionformarriage.org/html/top_ten.php