Journalist and gay rights activist Jonathon Rauch spoke at the American Values Speaker series, sponsored by the Department of Political Science and School of Public and International Affairs, addressing Amendment One and whether the government should sanction homosexual marriage.
The issue of homosexual marriage has been a hot topic during this year’s primaries, and North Carolina has entered the fray by proposing a bill for the North Carolina constitution known as Amendment One. This bill would deny recognition of any currently legal, domestic union other than marriage, including homosexual marriage and unmarried heterosexual partnerships.
The general outcry over this bill is not only for its treatment of homosexual couples, but also on its harsh wording and the rights it would be taking away from straight couples, according to Rauch .
“I think the whole thing is written terribly,” Ivan Herrera, senior in political science, said. “I don’t know why anyone would want to pass this law.”
Rauch got his start as a journalist at the Winston-Salem Journal. He opened his speech by asserting his belief that homosexual marriage is a positive step for this country.
“I’m a speaker, I’m American, and I do have values,” Rauch said.
Speaking on the history of the Gay Rights Movement, the story was told of Frank Kamney , who was “the closest thing the gay rights fight has had to a Rosa Parks or a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.” said Rauch . “He [fought for] the ‘homosexual agenda’ for the first twenty years of the Gay Rights Movement.”
Kamney was a World War II veteran, and after the war worked in Washington D.C . with the U.S . Army Mappings Services. In 1957, Kamney was caught up in a police sting and was charged under the Anti-Sodomy Law. Though his charges were dismissed, he was fired from the government for being a homosexual.
However, Kamney chose to fight for his rights. “‘If I and society disagree, I’ll always give societies’ view a second look,'” Rauch quoted. “‘And if, on second examination, I believe society is wrong and I am right, the society better get out of my way!'”
Today, Rauch insists that the fight for gay rights is in its second wave, fighting for the rights of marriage and the ‘gay responsibility.’
Most of the arguments against gay marriage claim it’s an attack on core American values, according to Rauch . Rauch disagrees, affirming it is an extension of these values.
In his speech, Rauch focused on the importance of marriage for the community as a whole. He noted the health and monetary benefits that comes with marriage, as well as the ease it has on society.
“Marriage is not a taking from society, it’s giving back,” Rauch said. “It’s a promise to undertake an obligation to another person. It’s good for homosexuals for all the same reason it’s good for straights. It makes you healthier, happier, better off financially… it reduces the likelihood of mental health, crime, and poverty.”
As a social conservative, Rauch agreed with his peers in saying that marriage is the foundation of society. In America today, that foundation is under threat, with divorce rates nearly four times as high as they were in the 1970s .
Paulina Ragunas , freshmen in psychology, came to the speech assuming the talk would be pro-homosexual marriage, but was not expecting the pro-family angle Rauch took.
“I was surprised how he spoke to us about marriage and family, and civil union versus marriage, with all of the health benefits and feelings of family,” Ragunas said.
Though Rauch is not in favor of Amendment One, he stated how glad he was that it was actually on a ballot, being voted on. He noted how, just a few years ago, the notion of gay marriage would have been absurd, and now millions of Americans are dealing with this issue daily.
“Some of my straight friends argue that every child deserves a mother and a father,” said Rauch . “And I say no, every child does not deserve a mother and father, they already have that, or they would not have been born… every child deserves to live in a household with married parents. Make marriage the norm.”
