Why I Don't Support Same-Sex Marriage (or any other kind of federally-backed marriage.)

When I first was confronted with the idea of homosexuality, I had no idea what to think.

I talked to my parents, and they both thought it to be wrong.

I talked to my brother, and he was on the fence.

I talked to my best friend, and he thought it was wrong.

Eventually, one of my friends came out as being gay, so that had an influence on me. I mean, I don't want to "hate" my friend. I had no clue as to what to do. I talked to my parents and friends about it again and they gave me the same answer: it was wrong. So great: my friend isn't right in the head. Wonderful.

I soon forgot about the whole mess until my senior year of high school when I took political science and AP Government. I had to think about it, my grade depended upon it.

So one day, I sat down and thought to myself: is this a black-and-white issue, that is, are there only two sides to this? I mean, being from Fairfax County, a lot of peers sided with homosexuals and thinking it was acceptable, so it seemed as if I should as well; I was suffocated by one opinion.

The truth is, this does not have to be a two-sided issue. This is where I have taken my stand.

After discussing matters further with my brother who provides a moderate position on most issues, I came to this conclusion:

1.) Marriage is religious. It should not be in the government's realm of powers to control; that is a merge of church and state.

2.) The only type of bond that a government should be able to give is a civil union, straight or gay, provided the benefits are equal to both couples.

3.) I don't want my religion to influence my laws nor do I want my laws to influence my religion. Therefore, don't try to warp marriage by changing the original concept.

4.) This is what I think a lot of people haven't come to understand. You don't have to agree with your friends to like them. Even though my one friend is a homosexual, I still treasure his camaraderie. I do not approve of his way of life and would not vote to give him "marriage rights" because of the aforementioned points, but I still think that he is a good man.

So there. That's all I've got. I hope that those who believe that gay marriage isn't right believe it for the right reasons and that those who support it aren't doing it for their peers' approval.