 “Marriage is the fundamental,‭ ‬cross-cultural institution for bridging the male-female divide so that children have loving,‭ ‬committed mothers and father.‭” ‬This is a problem,‭ ‬yes,‭ ‬and yes,‭ ‬it is probably in a child's best interest to have both a mother,‭ ‬and a father who love each other and are in a committed relationship. However I cannot overlook the fact,‭ ‬that there is absolutely nothing that a homosexual family could do,‭ ‬that is not done every day by a heterosexual family,‭ ‬be it an absentee father or mother,‭ ‬a divorce,‭ ‬a single parent. 

	If being a‎ “‏family unit‭” ‬without two parents of different genders a damaging enough to a child,‭ ‬to justify denying a couple the right to marry,‭ ‬why isn't being a single parent grounds for being an unfit parent‭? ‬Why is divorce legal‭? ‬After all,‭ ‬may will argue that marriage is only for raising children in the best environment possible,‭ ‬why is breaking up that union legal when children are involved‭? ‬Why is it not a crime to be an absentee parent‭? ‬Last,‭ ‬under the issue of children,‭ ‬that perhaps has more to do with gay adoption that marriage,‭ ‬but I find it appropriate none the less,‭ ‬as the two are undeniably intertwined:‭ ‬are two same sex parents worse than no parents at all‭? ‬Some would say no. ‭“‬More than‭ ‬20‭ ‬studies have been done on about‭ ‬300‭ ‬children of lesbians and gay men....The results are quite clear:‭ ‬Children of lesbian or gay parents turn out just fine on every conceivable measure of emotional and social development....‭”‬

	So where does this lead us‎? ‏No doubt,‭ ‬many of the arguments supporting the idea that gay marriage is a threat to the American family,‭ ‬and society itself are flawed‭; ‬using logical fallacies,‭ ‬outdated thinking,‭ ‬religious tyranny,‭ ‬and emotional propaganda,‭ ‬that as it turns out isn't necessarily true depending on who you ask. Does this prove,‭ ‬without a doubt,‭ ‬that gay marriage is not a threat to the American family and society‭? ‬Personally,‭ ‬I'm absolutely convinced,‭ ‬but from an objective,‭ ‬academic standpoint,‭ ‬no,‭ ‬absolutely not. I've brought to light some of the strongest arguments and issues surrounding the controversy,‭ ‬but in reality,‭ ‬there are thousands of issues,‭ ‬more than one could cover in a lifetime. And beyond that,‭ ‬there are so many more possible problems and issues that we haven't even thought of yet. Gay marriage,‭ ‬no matter how deeply studies,‭ ‬will always leave one with more questions than answers. But of this I am absolutely certain. Fear,‭ ‬without any sort of solid proof,‭ ‬is no good justification to deny someone a civil right. We will never know,‭ ‬not even without a doubt,‭ ‬but even reasonably so,‭ ‬what the consequences of gay marriage will be. We won't until we legalize it,‭ ‬in the entire United States.

‎	‏How should the value of life be determined‭? ‬This is an age old question and many people have come up with many answers to it.