St George’s wins ‘Gay Marriage debate’ against BFEC
The Ministry of Education and Culture Inter-Secondary Schools’ Debate 2017 preliminary round took place at the Eileene L. Parsons Auditorium at the H. Lavity Stoutt Community College in Paraquita Bay on Monday January 30, 2017.
The judges based their decision on the soundness of points, logical development, audibility and clarity, personality, and command of the material.
The Best Speaker was Keira St Rose of the Proposition Bregado Flax Educational Centre located on Virgin Gorda.
St Rose who proposed the idea that gay marriage harms the institution of traditional marriage, argued that “We are firm in our conviction that Gay marriage harms the institution of traditional marriage.”
“Ladies and gentlemen to date gay marriage are neither practiced nor legally accepted in the Virgin Islands, however, there is a growing movement worldwide which favours making those relationships commonly called same-sex unions the equivalent of marriage. Even though there has not been a lot of research done recently on the success of these marriages, we believe that gay marriages can be detrimental to the institution of traditional marriage,” she argued.
Some of her arguments presented were that gay marriages weaken the definition and respect for the institution of marriage, and that it reinforces a declining emphasis on procreation, a key purpose of marriage, resulting in lower birth rate.
St Rose claimed that the 50 percent divorce rate worldwide has already weakened the definition of marriage and locally traditional marriage is under severe attack with broken homes and questioned whether the populace wishes to add to these.
“If society values its children it must reject gay marriages. Mr Moderator, we are confident that our people will not accept or tolerate gay marriages just because the overwhelming majority has accepted it. The facts are clear, gay marriages harm the institution of traditional marriage.”
Other arguments put forward were that both parents need to be part of a child’s life, a key to their success and development.
Not justifying gay marriages
Meantime, on the Opposition, from the St George’s Secondary School, Kiymeiah Millington said they are not there to justify gay marriages.
“Let me be extensively clear before I go any further, the opposition is not here to argue whether gay marriage is morally right or wrong. That is not the issue at hand. While this topic is understandably a high charged emotional one, let’s not lose track on the fact that we the Members of the Opposition are only required to show that there is no direct correlation between the argument of gay marriages and erosion of traditional marriages. Open-minded people do not impose their beliefs on others, they just accept all of life’s perspectives and realities, doing their own thing in peace.”
The Opposition said there must be facts and the Proposition must show it as there is no evidence or reasoning that gay marriages have harmed traditional marriages, “or maybe I am a bit oblivious?”
Basing traditional marriage on solely Christianity incomplete
Millington continued, “Traditional marriage has always existed the way it has, so how can that devalue or undermine? Our small archipelago of islands or perhaps the majority of the Caribbean are heavily dependent on the Christian religion, we all agree that marriage is a gift from God, but there are many marriages in this world that are not based on Christianity. What about Common Law marriage? What about people who are not Christians and are married, living together and are participating in the institution of marriage? Are they not traditional marriage as well? Using Christian beliefs as a means to define traditional marriage is totally incomplete!”
Follow fashion era
She questioned whether it is because as a people they are so caught up in robots to systematic theology rather than being practical theology, “We are basically dogs to society, whatever they throw out, we eat. We live in a follow fashion era, because everyone is doing it, we must do it too. We allow ourselves to be changed by this external influence; if the majority isn’t doing it, it is automatically considered bad, weird or peculiar. This is exactly how society views gay marriages, same-sex marriages does not pose a threat to anyone except those who spend their time criticising and looking down their nose. When will we have some backbone? When will we as individuals stop being spineless, if you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything, the more the merrier isn’t always merry, but just a bunch trying to fit in.”
How can gay marriage be blamed?
“Gay marriage is a recent phenomenon, how can we blame something as young as me for the pallor state of marriage which has been around facing alarming erosions and failures dating as far back as the 1950’s?” Millington asked.
She stated that traditional marriages have been hurting increasingly for over 100 years before and what threatens traditional marriages in the past continues to be a threat today and will be the same in the future. She pointed out the top eight reasons why marriages fail are infidelity, lack of communication, family problems, addiction problems, abuse, conflict in personalities, selfishness or self-centeredness and gender roles.
“Why don’t we stop blaming others for our downfalls and accept the fact that it is our own fault that destroys our marriage? What I hate is ignorance, the smallness of the imagination, the eye that sees no further than its nose…,” Millington noted.
Other members of the Opposition team were Hunter Christopher and Le’Amoi Biggs.
Other members of the Proposition team were Kaliyah Stevens and Anika Christopher.
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32 Responses to “St George’s wins ‘Gay Marriage debate’ against BFEC”
This is exactly what St George's hoped to achieve. How sad you are one of the ones stuck with dogma without
thinking for yourself.
sense of fairness and equality. Trump will get US into WWIII and shame america in the eyes of the world.
As far as I know my sister and brothers are not gay and my parents are also straight. So as far as the sicko with the problem, go find a mirror.
Many marriage woes have been around for hundreds of years. Ask yourself, if a child is in foster care, who
doesn't get adequate attention amidst many other needy children, would they be better off in a household of loving people WANTING that child and willing to take care of that child and LOVING that child, regardless of their sexual preference?
I have known gay marriages which have lasted for 50-60 years. I have known adopted children of such parents go on to become doctors and lawyers. There are many children who need to be adopted. And there are many traditional marriages that don't want children. Gay marriages do not erode traditional marriages. Our own morality, lack of values, selfishness can do that all by itself, thank you very much. We should not be sheep or follow blindly the doctrines of established institutions. Even the pope speaks of compassion.