Gay marriage has become a hot topic among some NFL players, and Baltimore Ravens center Matt Birk is the latest to engage in the discussion.
The issue became publicized when a Maryland politician sent Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti a letter requesting that he prevent Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo, who supports gay marriage, from expressing his divisive political views. Vikings punter Chris Kluwe responded by writing a profane column published by Deadspin in support of Ayanbadejo and gay marriage.
Now Birk, a St. Paul native, wrote a column for the Minneapolis Star Tribune in opposition of gay marriage.
Birk, who graduated from Harvard in 1998, believes that NFL players should have the right to voice their opinion, but he wants society to promote specific marriage values.
The union of a man and a woman is privileged and recognized by society as “marriage” for a reason, and it’s not because the government has a vested interest in celebrating the love between two people. With good reason, government recognizes marriages and gives them certain legal benefits so they can provide a stable, nurturing environment for the next generation of citizens: our kids.
Children have a right to a mom and a dad, and I realize that this doesn’t always happen.
We encourage you to read the entire column, but that’s the gist of his argument.
While I am in complete agreement with Birk about society needing to focus on strengthening the institution of marriage by reducing spousal cheating, divorces, and nonchalant unions, I still don’t see how allowing gay marriage would be a bad thing. If two gay people are already living together and have been together for many years and love each other, why not let them get married? I’d like to see evidence from Birk showing that gay couples are unfit to be parents, or that heterosexual couples make the best parents.
As CJ Fogler pointed out to us, Kluwe has already written a response to Birk’s column. You can read it here.
H/T Game On
