Guest column: Marriage is a gift from God

This past week, local news has been dominated by the Maryland Civil Marriage Protection Act, which narrowly passed through the General Assembly this week and passed through the state senate yesterday. The proposed bill has been intensely polarizing, as the issue of homosexual marriage usually is.

Students on the campus have been voicing their opinions on the topic and appear to be overwhelmingly in favor of the bill. We have seen countless opinion articles and editorial cartoons in The Diamondback contributing to this perception.

The consistent trend throughout most of these articles indicates that those who oppose same-sex marriage are homophobic, hateful and possibly members of the Ku Klux Klan, which was explicitly implied in Nathan Tucker's editorial cartoon Tuesday.

For those who did not see the cartoon, it depicted people opposing the same-sex marriage bill, dressed in KKK sheets while carrying signs labeled "Ignorance & Hate." Same-sex marriage supporters were labeled "Intelligence and Rationality." While I am not personally offended by the drawing, I do find it troubling and ironic that one would categorize an entire group of people this way, especially in support of a movement that strives to be peaceful and loving. I am here to clarify the point of view of those who do not support the bill so we can avoid such egregious stereotypes.

One of the most popular targets for same-sex marriage supporters has been the Catholic Church, which has firmly maintained its stance on the issue despite increasing pressure from the public. Many people have complained the Church is simply a hierarchy of celibate men who are out of touch in today's modern world — but the Church's views on gay marriage have far deeper roots than that. Catholics believe sex and marriage are connected and that they are both gifts from God.

Specifically, they have two purposes. The first is unity: Men and women were created in God's image, to complement one another. They are created to do this perfectly, both spiritually and biologically, for the purpose of becoming one.

The second is procreation, which is necessary to form a family. For this reason, Catholics consider sexual behavior sacred and not to be abused. The LGBTQA lifestyle does not comply with this complementarity: Therefore, such acts are sinful.

Many people question this belief, arguing because there are people who are naturally attracted to the same sex, it must not be sinful. The Catholic Church views such tendencies as temptations to sin, which are like other sexual urges that cause us to sin, such as masturbation and fornication. This temptation is not inherently sinful, but acting upon it goes against God's will and is considered a sin.

However, the Church also teaches that God is merciful, and all sins can be forgiven. Furthermore, it is not our duty as human beings to be the judge of others; we are expected to accept and love all other people unconditionally, as every person retains human dignity from natural conception to natural death.

This is why the Catholic Church openly accepts all people, regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation.

Finally, Catholics believe that marriage is not a human invention, but a gift from God.

He established marriage as a sacrament that can unite only a man and a woman. It is neither our right, nor our ability to redefine it. It is not an issue of "marriage equality" as many have claimed, but one of moral consciousness. So before you label a group of people as hateful, please consider and understand their viewpoint. Failure to do so will only exacerbate the tensions and hate.

James Morris is a sophomore elementary education major. He can be reached at jmorris8@terpmail.umd.edu.