Why is gay marriage still illegal in North Dakota? Seriously, think about that.

Thanks to the U.S. Supreme Court refusing to hear cases from five different states trying to keep their bans on same sex marriage, there are now 26 states in the U.S. that have same-sex marriage.

That number is increasing faster and faster.  So why isn’t North Dakota one of these states?.

It’s odd to see people fighting so hard to ruin other people’s happiness. Make no mistake that is what is happening here.

Why is a man that wants to visit his partner in the hospital prevented from doing so because he is not considered family by policy?

“Because I think gay sex is icky” doesn’t sound like the greatest answer. Despite all the fancy language they try to hide it in, it is the truth.

Every single argument against gay marriage is so poorly thought out, it seems obvious to me they are merely ways to cover up the bigotry behind trying to deny people basic human rights.

Take for example the ever famous argument of it will destroy the sanctity of marriage. Really? Gay people are going to do that?

Not the straight people who got married in Las Vegas and then divorced in the same weekend. Not the straight people who use divorce as a first option instead of a last resort.

No, it’s definitely the gays that are going to destroy the concept of marriage.

Nothing is more destructive to the sanctity of marriage than two people who love each other and want to honestly commit the rest of their lives to each other, if they’re gay of course.

Then there is the ever popular slippery slope argument. First it’s gay marriage, then it’s something polygamy or incest.

Speaking of which you know which famous historical text has both of these? The Bible.

Not only that, but it was approved by God. Look up the story of Jacob and his wives (that is correct, wives) to see what biblical or “traditional” marriage actually was.

Then of course there is the redefining  and devaluing marriage argument. Yet, marriage as we know it today isn’t as old as mankind.

The idea of exclusively monogamy and marriage based on love is recent invention. It used to be arranged marriages and the like, the definition of marriage amounted to little more than a financial transaction.

Therefore I would argue that gay marriage actually adds more value to marriage rather than devaluing it as it expands its influence.

But what do I tell my kids? Depends, what do you tell your kids about the 26 states where it is already legal?

Here is another one of my favorites. Gays can’t have kids, and they shouldn’t adopt kids either because studies have shown that kids need both a father and a mother.

Two things. First of all, just because they need them, doesn’t automatically mean that they will get the full benefit on the sole basis of being with heterosexual parents. Secondly, even if it was better for a child to have both parents, do you know what we can prove would be demonstrably worse? Staying in an orphanage forever with zero parents.

They claim to care about children, yet I don’t see these supposedly superior parents rushing out to go adopt these kids from the orphanage or foster care.

It’s not a good idea for a child to go to a loving home where both parents care about because they happen to be of the same gender? It’s better for the child to remain unwanted and unloved? That’s the argument you’re going with?

This is why I have trouble taking these arguments seriously.

It seems that pretty much all of the objection towards same sex marriage comes from certain groups of religious people. Yet sometimes even people of the same faith can’t agree on this topic.

Honestly, I’m perfectly fine with people objecting to gay marriage. It’s a free country — object all you want. What I have a problem with is when people start forcing others to live by their specific religious ideals.

Thanks to all the states that have now legalized gay marriage, we can now see firsthand what actually happens when it is legalized.

It can be easy for people to sit back and say, well of course it’s still illegal here, this state is just very conservative.

However, apathy is the greatest weapon the opposition has. The main reason gay marriage is still illegal in the country is that not many people have decided to take action to defend it. I think it is about time that changed.

Mike Rauser is a staff writer for The Dakota Student. He can be reached at [email protected].