1. Why PforTFA is against Same-Sex Marriage?
1.1 The purpose of Parents for The Family Association (PforTFA) is to uphold the basic principle of “Love your family and contribute to the Society” as a core value in Hong Kong. We would support anything which is beneficial to such a core value and would reject anything which is harmful to it.
1.2 As promulgated in Article 16 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. We do believe that the welfare of both the family and the society is intricately linked.
1.3 PforTFA noted the increasing trend of divorces in recent years as follows:
The number of female single parents rose markedly from 23 059 in 1991 to 57 613 in 2006, while that of male single parents rose less significantly, from 11 479 in 1991 to 14 713 in 2006. The number of widowed and divorced/separated persons increased from 346 700 in 1986 to 580 200 in 2008 and their proportion in the population also increased in recent years. The number of remarriages of either or both parties rose from 3 333 in 1986 to 16 890 in 2006 and then decreased to 14 492 in 2008. They constituted 31% of all marriages in 2008, as compared with 8% in 1986. So, we consider that the traditional family is under a heavy stress and threat! Such a phenomenon occurs not only in H.K. but in most western countries over the world as well. In the States, there has been a statistics to show that the divorce rate due to co-habitation before getting married is twice that of the traditional marriage.
1.4 We respect the solemnity of marriage and therefore are against co-habitation as well as same sex marriage (which is not legal in HK) because they cannot substitute the traditional marriage but will degrade it instead. We are worried about the local trends of gay activism and sex liberation in Hong Kong as they would strongly impact the traditional family leading to escalation of pre-marital sex, co-habitation, unwed mothers as well as gay activities.
1.5 From similar statistics of the western world, we can see that sex liberation, the pursuit of extreme individualism in terms of freedom and equality and gay activism have resulted in a tremendous blow to the traditional family which is actually being disintegrated. This has led to the escalation of cohabitation, single (or even multiple) parent(s), non-marital births and changing partners. We believe all these would lead to a long term degradation of the concerned societies.
1.6 For reasons advanced above, PforTFA is against same-sex marriage or civil union as its equivalent. Furthermore, gay sex would induce much harm both bodily and mentally to its participants. Gay couples also change partners much more often than the traditional husband and wife coupling. Examples of harm are Aids and the spread of HIV, various forms of venereal diseases (e.g. the abnormal hardening of penis). These are obvious warnings to the gay community.
2. Supplemental Considerations
2.1 The idea that gay is an inborn characteristic is NOT yet proven and subject to much challenge. (see Homosexuality
INNATE AND IMMUTABLE? )
2.2 Gay activities were known both in China and the west in the past millenniums. For example, the Bible has talked about the fornication and sex abuses in Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen.19). The Bible scholar, C.S. Keene, also pointed out that homosexuality among men was rather common during the Roman era. Hence, homosexuality is definitely not a new phenomenon of the modern world.
2.3 Chinese people have been and tend to treat homosexuality with a pragmatic and social harmony approach. Hence, they would tolerate a mild degree of homosexuality provided the gay participants remain low profile and non-confrontational.
2.4 Homosexuality may be classified into 3 categories, namely, those who have no sexual desire towards the opposite sex, those who are bisexual and those who are engaged in homosexuality transiently owing to reasons of an extended period of single sex environment (e.g. prisons and schools) or other complex factors.
2.5 It is very dangerous to extend and stress the rights of gay people to their limit, thus neglecting the overall harmony and wellbeing of our society. For instance, the Aids cocktail therapy is very expensive and its costs are mostly borne by tax-payers in western societies. Some youths (esp. girls) are reported to have been seduced to try out for homosexuality in order to test their real sexual orientation. Such activities would mislead and impede the concerned youths from developing a balanced and healthy norm for the traditional marriage, and might induce a long term regret and harm to their future marriage.
2.6 We do know that there were same sex co-habitation arrangements in China owing to economic, family, traditional and superstitious causes. For instance, sworn brothers and sisters did and do exist in China even today. Such arrangement was not sexually oriented initially. However, it turned out for some such brothers or sisters to live together and might develop a mutual desire and love for each other owing possibly to their long term bondage. Even as such, it is not clear whether sex is involved in the concerned co-habitation.
2.7 There are more and more people leading a single life nowadays. We are not aware of any universal institution or arrangement for these people especially during their old age. We respect those who decide to live a celibate life for good. Nevertheless, we are also sympathetic to those who have such a desire and yet are confronted with the need of partnership and mutual support. As such, we would not object to a suitable form of living together arrangement for these single people to help out and console each other provided NO sex is involved (c.f. In Catholic churches, there are often arrangements for retired living communities to take care of their senile priests and nuns.)
PforTFA
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