Animal kingdom for gay marriage

In the coming weeks, the Indiana Senate will vote on an amendment that would make same-sex marriage unconstitutional, as if it’s not illegal already.

They’ve tried this before and failed, but if it passes this time, Indiana will join the league of states who have inscribed into their constitutions violations of gay people’s civil liberties.

If the rest of the animal kingdom does not seem to have a problem with homosexuality, why should we as humans have a problem? 

In 2004, a pair of male chinstrap penguins in New York’s Central Park Zoo made the news when their zookeeper gave them a fertile egg. Roy and Silo, as the penguins have been named, had spent the past six years embracing each other, spending time together and having sex. They refused female partners. They successfully cared for the egg until it hatched and spent two months raising their young, Tango, until she was ready to be released.

The most startling example of animals engaging in homosexual and bisexual behavior is in our fellow primate and closest relative, the bonobo. Bonobos look like small chimpanzees, and their range is now limited to a portion of the tropical forests in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This species is famous among primatologists for their female-dominated societies (girl power!) and for easing conflicts between individuals with sexual activities. They will do it in all combinations, female and female, male and male, or male and female, in order to avoid controversy.

Giraffes do it, too. At least the boys. Observations of wild giraffes suggest that male giraffes participate in sexual activities like necking and mounting with other males more often than with females. They’re into really long necks, and males have longer necks than females, so why not?

A University of California-Riverside study has uncovered frequent female pair-bonding among the Laysan Albatross in Hawaii. They found that among these beautiful birds, one-third of nests are attended by long-term female-female pairs. These pairs engage in normal albatross couple activities, like mutual preening, mate protection and sharing parenting responsibilities. The couples are dedicated to each other; they will stay loyal to each other for many years.

You can find homosexual activity at all ends of the animal kingdom. From humans to dolphins, beetles to fruit bats, everyone’s doing it. For some, it may be a long-term relationship that involves the rearing of young, and for others it could just be for sexual gratification outside of regular heterosexual mating.

When the Indiana General Assembly yet again considers making same-sex marriage constitutionally illegal, they should know that the animal kingdom would not embrace this type of limitation on their freedoms of sexual orientation.

And yes, I know, animals participate in all sorts of behaviors that are not desirable in humans, such as infanticide and cannibalism, and I don’t think we should make those fatal activities legal. But the freedom to love and be loved by whomever we please should not be denied, and rather than trying to pass this proposed amendment, Indiana needs to follow in the footsteps of Massachusetts and make same-sex marriage legal.