The State only has an interest in the institution of marriage because it is the glue that holds together families, which in turn, provide the State with the next generation of its citizenry. The State therefore, promotes & acknowledges marriage for its own self-interest. Otherwise it would not get involved in regulating marriage nor in providing benefits as an incentive for people to participate in it. In other words, the institution of marriage, ordered towards the begetting and education of children, serves the common good and therefore the State.
By definition, the State cannot have a parallel interest in homosexal unions, nor in promoting the gay lifestyle, which is intrinsically sterile. The tragically disproportionate rate of sexually transmitted diseases (often fatal ones such as AIDS, anal cancer, Hep B&C), serious health problems and shortened life span inherent in the gay lifestyle, is yet another reason why the State has no genuine interest in encouraging homosexual unions or behaviour.
As Christians, we oppose all forms of violence or unjust discrimination against same-sex attracted persons. By the same token, we love them enough to warn them of destructive health consequences endemic to the gay lifestyle.
Unfortunately, many young men, women and even teens are being lied to about the gay lifestyle. They are told it is just as healthy as heterosexual relationships. That's the big lie at the heart of the gay agenda. Those who enter into the gay lifestyle have a higher risk of fatal diseases, a plethora of serious infections and other health risks, domestic partner abuse, depression, drug and alcohol abuse, etc. Incredibly, militant gay-activists and their apologists in the mainstream media, disingenuously blame all these problems (even the disproportionate rates of fatal disease) on "homophobia". The do so in order to deflect from the reality that these health problems are endemic to, and a result of, the homosexual lifestyle itself.
To read a good summary which includes statistics about the social and medical health risks of the homosexual lifestyle, click here.
If we truly love the person, shouldn't we at least be honest with them about the risks of choosing to enter such a lifestyle? To listen to the MP3 audio broadcast from which that pdf outline was derived click here to play "Talk 4 - Debunking the myths". The talk was given on a radio show by internationally reknowned, Catholic speaker and lay leader, Peter Herbek.