STR CONTEST Round 3 DEBATE

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Trendy Thunders V/S Miracle Midgets

Topic of Debate: Does legalizing Gay Marriage make free speech illegal for those who want to comment against it?

Legalizing Gay Marriage DOES make free speech illegal for those who want to comment against it:Miracle Midgets.

Legalizing Gay Marriage DOES NOT make free speech illegal for those who want to comment against it: Trendy Thunders.

Representives from TT: Armageddon, KupKakes.

Representives from MM: Ridz, Malika.

First both the teams have to provide a short introduction and then they can start with the debate.

Legalizing gay marriage does not make free speech illegal for those who want to comment against it.

Good evening to the honorable jury, my worthy opponents and fellow friends. It is only since the turn of the twenty first century, that the global society has started acknowledging the existence of and gradually accepting people with 'different' sexual orientations.

Different sexual orientations may mean any of the 22 possible sexual orientations, except heterosexuality. The most common 'different' sexual orientations are lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender, which are together referred to as LGBT. The acronym LGBT is commonly used to include all the other 21 sexual orientations too. Earlier, the LGBT community was referred to as 'queer' people, and heterosexuals as 'straight' people, but now the word 'queer' is looked upon as promoting regressive and non-inclusive mindsets among people, and more or less an insult.

The LGBT community is rapidly growing in the world, and hence several governments have or are in the process of allowing gay marriages, which can be defined as marriage between partners of the same sex. Most countries which have legalized gay marriages, grant homogamous couples all the rights that heterogamous couples are entitled to.

Allowing gay marriages only improves the quality of life for gay couples by allowing them to legally unite and granting them all the rights they are entitled to, being legal citizens of their own countries, but does not in any way infringe upon the freedom of expression of people who do not believe in such unions. No law can take away from a citizen of a democratic republic the right to free speech and expression. Hence, legalizing gay marriages does not make free speech illegal for those who want to comment against it.

Out of the 22 odd countries which have legalized gay marriages, most have democratic or republic governments. Such governments allow their citizens complete freedom of speech and expression. No democratic country can have a constitution that says that criticizing either the state or any of the laws of the nation is illegal, so long as violence or disorderly behavior in public is not incited.

Glancing through constitutions of the various countries that have legalized gay marriages will immediately put to rest any doubts in a person's mind as to restriction of freedom of speech.

Yes Legalizing Gay Marriage DOES make free speech illegal for those who want to comment against it

You guys can start with the counter arguments if you are done with the introductions.

Good evening everyone...Honorable judges and my worthy opponents We are here to speak on the topic does Legalizing Gay Marriage DOES make free speech illegal for those who want to comment against it ... Yes it does because everyone should have the freedom of speech and legalizing the above mentioned marriage somehow takes away the power of speech against it..And Gay marriage somehow dilutes the value of marriage

You say legalizing gay marriage somehow takes away the power of speech against it. I totally disagree and would appreciate greatly if you could elaborate on why you think legalizing gay marriage restricts the freedom of expression of people who do not believe in it.
Secondly, this debate is not about whether gay marriage is moral or immoral. It is about freedom of expression regarding these gay marriages. Please refrain from professing your opinions regarding gay marriage now. And since you have, let me tell you that now that people speak more and more about personal choices, having gay partners or marrying them is also an extremely personal choice, which we need not comment on. However, we are digressing from the topic, and you are entitled to your views. Kindly elaborate on how freedom of speech is affected by the legalization of gay marriage.

Definitely it's a personal choice but what about those who want to comment against it.. Those who are supporting gay marriages or a part of it now can easily target those who are not comfortable with it or are against it..Suppose for example I am a wedding planner and a gay couple approaches me and since I am not comfortable with the idea I might offend them with my comments and now they may take legal actions against me if they want to .. Isn't it violation freedom of speech???

This is a misconception. Firstly, unless you are government body, an educational institution which is affiliated to or dependent on the government or a professional, like a doctor, you are not obliged to entertain any customers you are not interested in. When it is a private firm you are running, it is entirely your choice, and not even the state can force you to do anything against your will as long as you are not engaging in illegal activities or malpractices. Declining serving a customer is definitely not a malpractice. Secondly, if you comment on their decision to their face, it would a very insensitive action which you could easily refrain from, but even assuming you do, they cannot file a lawsuit against you. A lot of people say a lot of things that hurt other people. Every person does not take the other to a court of law! A person can lodge a complaint only when someone incites violence or hatred, which is definitely an immoral thing.

For example, if I were to say all people from a particular state are dumb, it would a wrong view, a bad stereotype and a very unfair statement, which would definitely hurt the sentiments of any people from that state who happen to hear my statements. Though they can argue it out with me, they cannot take me to a court of law for this. However, if I were to spread the view among people of my colony that all people from that state are thieves and must be nabbed, and I manage to brainwash some people and they actually inflict violence on any random person from that state, on this flimsy ground, I can be taken to a court of law for inciting violence.
The same applies here also. Unless your views turn out into threats for human rights, you are allowed in a democratic nation to keep and profess your own opinions freely.